Boxing
Lelinwalla: Pound-for-pound star nails Itauma mistakes and how star can rebound
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The aftermath of Filip Hrgovic shockingly stopping Moses Itauma to become the new IBF world heavyweight champion Saturday night had Shakur Stevenson taking to his X social media account and heaping praise onto Itauma, while also pinpointing an area the 21-year-old can adapt from.
With those words, Stevenson provided a properly framed snapshot for how even scintillating sweet science skills — like that of Itauma’s — can be forced to succumb if aggression pushes a fighter past his physical limits. The same attributes that can propel Itauma to the top can derail him if misused, leaving the onus on the sensation to learn from the loss and unwaveringly bounce back.
Despite suffering his first professional loss, Itauma (14-1, 12 KOs) remains every bit of a phenom to not only the glamour division, but boxing, period.
I had Itauma comfortably winning on scorecards, outboxing a veteran Hrgovic, before he completely punched himself out in the ninth round. That emptying of the gas tank paved the way for the Croatian to outlast the young lion.
Hrgovic stuns Moses to become IBF champion
Watch: Croatian upsets Briton to earn heavyweight crown
Prior to the bout, the fact that Itauma’s 14 pro fights had gone 31 total rounds was boasted about within the promotion’s build. But by the end of Saturday night, it was more of a detriment. Itauma’s motor sputtered out and Hrgovic, 13 years his senior, took advantage.
As the pound-for-pound star Stevenson said, putting full might into every attempted shot “can be a gift and a curse.” Over many sequences of the fight, it was more of a gift as Itauma’s electric skills were simply drowning Hrgovic out. However, giving Hrgovic credit where it’s due, he courageously hung in there behind a granite chin even after tasting the canvas in a second-round knockdown. In the end, when it counted most, he had the ring savvy and legs to apply pressure. A spent Itauma had nothing left and it resulted in a riveting ninth-round stoppage for Hrgovic, a five-to-one underdog.
Despite the sting of the disappointment in failing to become the second-youngest world heavyweight champion to Mike Tyson, Itauma’s upside is as bright as any young star’s. That's if he can learn from this setback and apply these lessons as fight fuel to his future ring exploits.
Already, he has the right idea. After processing the tough loss to stomach, Itauma took to his Instagram account Sunday and offered: “We attempted greatness and we just fell short to the more experienced man. I want to say congratulations to Filip Hrgovic on his win and although I never reached my desired outcome, I believe I gained experience that I’ll take to my future fights.”
Invaluable experience. At 21, Itauma has a deep boxing bag to draw from at his disposal. As long as he ensures that his conditioning levels up to those punching proficiencies, Itauma should be crowned king of the heavyweight division in the very near future.
So, consider this misstep learned footing to a postponed, but imminent coronation.
Ring MagazineWatch Garcia vs. Benn in the UK only on DAZN
Britain's Conor Benn looks to become a world champion for the first time against US superstar Ryan Garcia on Saturday, September 12. Watch the fight exclusively in the UK & Ireland on DAZN PPV or included in our Ultimate Tier subscription.
