Hrgovic Becomes the First Croatian Heavyweight Champion as Itauma Runs out of Gas

Tonight was supposed to be the night when a new star was born. A dazzling talent stood ready to accept his crown and hold onto it for years. The fight between Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic was regarded as a formality. Even the bookmakers saw it as a one-horse race. I was among the vast majority of observers who believed an Itauma loss was virtually impossible.

But sometimes talent isn't enough. Filip's strategy was simple - survive until the later rounds and test the young man's stamina.

Moses had never been past six rounds. He had also never received a hard punch on the chin in the professional ring. We now know that there's nothing wrong with his chin, he took some heavy punches from Hrgovic and usually fired back with interest. But the stamina was a different matter.

Itauma was breathing heavily even in the early stages of the contest. But that didn't stop him landing vicious punches on the Croatian to both head and body. But in the second half, his punch output started to wane. By round nine, he had lost his shape and was resorting to wild swings.

The pace of the fight wasn't particularly hectic, and yet Moses was spent. It's not unusual for boxers to experience lulls in their energy in a 12-round fight. But the experienced, well-prepared ones get a second wind.

When Moses lost his energy, it never returned.

By round 10, he was swaying around like the town drunk. It looked like Hrgovic only needed to tap him to put him down. The punches that prompted Moses' corner to throw in the towel, didn't look particularly concussive, but by that stage, Itauma was defenceless.  

The two boxers' approaches to the fight couldn't have been more different. Hrgovic said he would win because he was a warrior who could take punishment. Moses said he would win because he was good at solving puzzles. A philosophy he illustrated with an image of a chess piece on his smock during the ringwalk.

But solving puzzles doesn't require much stamina. 

Much of the blame I feel should be aimed at his trainer, Ben Davison. Moses told reporters last week that he has never sparred for 12 rounds. How on earth can a fighter be expected to last the 12 round distance, if he hasn't even done it in the gym? Did Ben really think that Moses would knock out every opponent he faced in the early rounds?

Itauma needs more of an old school approach to his training. Hopefully Ben will adapt.

If he does fix the stamina problem, he can still fulfil all his dreams and become a superstar. But he will never get his undefeated record back. 

As for Hrgovic, he is now targeting rival champions, Daniel Dubois and Agit Kabayel in a bid to become undisputed.