What we learned about Moses Itauma from the Filip Hrgović fight

We finally got to see what happens when Itauma can’t just get someone out of there early. I thought he looked great while he was fresh and was clearly winning the fight, but he went so hard for the finish that he burned through his gas tank. Once the fight got into the later rounds, it became pretty clear that his current high-pace, explosive style isn’t sustainable over 12 rounds.

Part of his development will be learning when to hunt for the finish and when to take his foot off the gas, conserve energy and trust himself to win rounds.

That’s probably the biggest thing we learned about him. He’s obviously incredibly talented, but his cardio, pacing and ability to perform in deep waters still need work.
And massive props to Hrgović too, dude has an insane chin and just refused to go away. Most Heavyweights probably would’ve been stopped by the punishment he took.

Honestly though, I think this could end up being a really valuable loss for Itauma at only 21. Better to find out now what needs fixing than later.


Just my two cents though. Curious what you guys think.

This content is protected

This content is protected

 

- It's not going to be a great loss for him because we know he is already not in love with boxing.
- We learned that his power is overrated (according to Hrgovic himself).
- We confirmed that the has stamina issues.

 

Itauma will still be heavyweight champion of the world one day

This is a learning experience

He needs to get away from Ben Davison

 

My biggest worry with Itauma, even more-so than his inexperience, lack of rounds and stamina issues, is this:

This content is protected

Yesterday's result is exactly the sort of thing than can **** up his career for good if this was his attitude beforehand. He didn't just get his ass whooped, he was left incapable of even standing and had to leave in a stretcher in his first fight vs a ranked guy.

 

Also, we do need to factor in that the dynamics of a fight change when the tactics are different.

If Itauma had fought more conservatively, it probably would’ve allowed Filip to work his own offense more, which in itself could’ve changed the trajectory of the fight. We simply don’t know.

The fact is though, that Itauma couldn’t beat Hrgović in a 12-round world title fight, and he showed that, with his current style and conditioning, he can’t sustain that pace for 12 rounds.

 

This content is protected

 

I'm actually more impressed by the heart he showed. He probably knew he stuffed up and was spent, so he swung for the fences and left everything in the ring. Yeah, he's got some things to work on and a bit of a journey back, but you learn more from losses than you do wins anyway.

 

I wouldn't say we learned anything, but mostly confirmed a lot of issues people have been pointing out for awhile now.

We know now know for sure that he has a gas tank worse than a 40 year old Zhang. Very bad.
We know he doesn't train for 12 rounds, confirming he's a bit lazy.
It also seems his power in vastly overrated. Hrgovic said his power wasn't all that, and that Adeleye hits harder. So we can say Itauma's power is less than Dubois', Zhang's and Adeleye's. I think what makes Itauma's power look so devastating is mostly his speed, followed by his accuracy; It takes his opponents by surprise and discombobulates them. But again, he was demonstrating this against Ameribums, cans and shot, old fighters.
I also think his chin is still in question. He didn't get hit all that much, but he was grimacing and resetting every time he got hit by Hrgovic, who is not a big puncher. Also, in the 8th when he was unloading his salvo, at about 40ish seconds left in the round, he ate a huge counter from Hrgovic that really messed him up and started the whole bambi legged thing he was doing that followed him into the 9th. So I think he was both exhausted and incredibly buzzed from the shot and could not recover.

I'm not sure he will ever really come back. He had everything going his way only to be stopped in an incredibly embarrassing way against his first real test. He doesn't seem all that motivated, and I think I read somewhere he doesn't really like the sport all that much. So, if he does come back, I reckon it'll be a year from now, and he'll be fighting creampuffs for literal years before he ever gets close to a fighter with a pulse again.

 

Zhang knows how to pace himself and fight in spots. Itauma has no clue how to do that. People pointing out that Itauma gassed himself out going for the finish don't understand WHY he nearly emptied the tank like that. He was feeling the pace and desperately wanted out. Hrgovic was getting to him regardless that was just a desperate gamble.

 

Yeah, I think him and his corner knew he was done and told him to go out and try to get him out of there. I think they know he wasn't going to make it 12 rounds. But still, its clear he has stamina issues. He does not train for 12 rounds. He was already mouth-breathing after round 2 and was clearly gassing out by round 4. by 6 he was done. He has clear stamina issues that will take a long time to fix. But with pacing himself and throwing less shots and less powerful shots, he allows his opponents more time to fire and land on him, and if his chin really isn't all that good, as I suspect, he'll get hurt and/or dropped. It's a double-edged sword.

 

i still think he is the most promising future king of the heavies. he is a kid, who was not properly prepared for the fight he got on Saturday. But he answered the heart and chin question satisfactorily.
what needs to happen for him to reach is potential is first, get your mind straight set that winning is the only option. that means doing EVERYTHING that ensuring winning requires. next, get a competent team around you. a trainer who understand what fighting a high pace for 12 rds requires. its not just about aerobic endurance, it's muscle specific endurance. finally, learn to fight strategic game plans for specific fighters. and have a set strategy for dealing with some of the plan not working. you are fighting for kingdoms now, its not a tough man contest.
how he responds to the loss will say a lot about his resilience. i think he has what is needed to overcome this setback.

 

Spot on. He'll also have a lot less pressure with the absurd expectation that he'll be the next Mike Tyson too.

 

Obviously he will have to adjust his pacing and perhaps, if it’s a problem for him, try to be more relaxed because being overly tense eats up energy in its own right.

Foreman said that being too keyed up and not being sufficiently relaxed contributed to his stamina issues during his first career.

Suffice to say, George looked pretty damned relaxed during his second coming.

 

At last. I was hugely impressed with the young man. I don't/didn't rate Hrgovic highly, definitely a top ten fighter, but his resilience, sheer will to win and unfairly ignored nuanced tactical nous was the difference on the night. Ituama may not have won the fight but if people can step away from the usual revisionist bollocks that comes after an 'upset' we can see he answered lots of questions. Chin checked. He didn't fall apart when clipped, and give Hrgo his due, Moses was clipped regularly throughout the fight. Self belief...misplaced perhaps, but the seek and destroy mentality showed a desire not just to win but to win the way he wants. Heart. Oh my goodness. This guy went out on his shield, swinging. If he can survive this 'experience' mentally, that loss and more importantly the manner of the loss might ne the missing piece of Ituama's jigsaw. He was absolutely sublime in spots.

As for Hrgo, I laugh at those saying he just 'outlasted' Ituama. He showed tremendous guile and a ring genralship that many seem to have missed. To steal a phrase from Usyk, he never left Moses alone. In all of the rounds he was losing he was the one dictating the pace, always 'just' close enough to force a reaction from Moses, always 'just' far enough away to take some of the sting out of what was coming back. His spatial awareness and mental crowding of Ituama was incredible to watch and has the desired effect. A more experienced fighter might have tied him up, not engaged, but Ituama seems to have a hard wired fault that is good to watch but proved his undoing. If he CAN hit something he WILL hit it.

Huge respect for both men. I usually put a few quid on any 'live' underdog but it slipped my mind to do so. I thought Moses would stop Hrgo, and I'll be surprised if Hrgo capitalises on this victory. A unification with Gasiev in Croatia would give him a big, well deserved payday. I actually like him V Kaba, but I think Dubois has his number and I doubt he'll beat Ituama again IF Moses comes back and that is not a given.

Great fight, great result, usual negativity from armchair warriors who have never had a fight in their life. Unfortunately this is the way of the world. Theodore Roosevelt had something to say about critics. Look it up, its brilliant.

Have a wonderful day all, peace and love always, Px