Itauma gets advice after Hrgovic loss

Tyson Fury has advised Moses Itauma to take his time in rebuilding his career after his stoppage defeat to Filip Hrgovic, insisting the British-Nigerian prospect was rushed into his first IBF world heavyweight title challenge before he was ready.

Itauma was stopped in the ninth round at London’s O2 Arena on August 29, despite leading on all three judges’ scorecards, after tiring badly and being overwhelmed by the more experienced Hrgovic.

He went into the fight with a perfect 14-0 record but had not previously gone beyond the fifth round of any professional bout.

Speaking to journalist Gareth A. Davies while training in Miami, Fury said he had warned those around Itauma that the fight had come too soon.

“So from my experience, I said to Frank Warren, I said to everybody who would listen, too soon,” Fury said.

“I suppose when you’re trying to build somebody into a superstar and beat records and all that stuff, they put them in early and they made a mistake.”

Fury said the setback could prove costly for the 21-year-old both financially and in terms of his development, pointing to his own more gradual rise through domestic and regional titles before challenging for a world championship.

“If you look at my career, I won English, Irish, British, Commonwealth, European. I did it the traditional route. And it’s done like that for a reason,” he said.

“I was 27 years old when I fought Wladimir Klitschko; I was a 10-1 underdog, but I was ready. If I’d have fought him at 21, I’d have got knocked out too.”

Itauma was taken to hospital as a precaution after the fight and released hours later. He has since called his promoter, Warren, to push for an immediate rematch with Hrgovic, though Warren has urged caution.

“He’s saying to me, ‘Can we get the rematch on?’, which is a natural reaction,” Warren told talkSPORT Breakfast.

“But I told him, ‘You have got to switch off from boxing, go and chill out and spend some time with your family and come back, recharge your batteries and then we get to work again.’”

Warren said he would prefer Itauma to take on one or two lower-profile opponents before considering another shot at world-title level, adding that he had sensed the fighter tiring as early as the seventh round.

“I was sat next to his brother, and after the seventh he looked like he was puffing a bit and then in the eighth round he came out with a big round,” Warren said.

“I said, ‘He’s going to punch himself out’.”

In a video posted to his Instagram page on August 30, Itauma broke his silence on the defeat, insisting he remains undeterred despite falling short of his first world title.

“So Saturday was not my night. We attempted greatness, and we just fell short to the more experienced man,” he said.

“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 will take to my future fights.”

Warren said Itauma had also picked up a leg injury during the contest and would need to work on his ring craft, but backed him to remain one of the most talented heavyweights in the division and eventually become a world champion.