Everyone will fancy it now, and he only spars 6 rounds, it’s too late for him to get great conditioning now, AJ was gassed against Wlad and came back in R11 for the KO, Moses was absolutely dead in round 9, without taking too much punishment either, if you survive the first 8 rounds, you’ll take him out. Anyone elite will beat him.
He was ****ed in the third. Said to my son, if Hrgovic gets to the 6th/7th he’ll knock him out. Was a big if.
Maybe it's weakness, or maybe it's a lack of experience; he hasn't reached his peak yet, hasn't distributed his strength across 12 rounds, and was chasing a knockout because Hrgovic was able to "get into his head."
I dont agree his problems stamina. His biggest strength and his biggest problem is his style. Puts too much into his shots too often. These top heavyweights are built to absorb damage. Although Hrgovic took an unbelievable amount of damage and hes incredibly tough i dont think hes the only one that would have outlasted Moses tonight. The big question now is can he adapt his style. Sometimes they cant because they got too used too fighting on the front foot. If they stop throwing big they end up on the receiving end too much and cant take the damage as well as guys like Hrgovic. The kid does have a tremendous skill set. I say the big question isnt can he improve his stamina but can he slow a fight down....without being on the receiving end of too much damage. Hes pretty similar too David Haye imo.
This was more than gassing. He took a few solid shots and fell to bits. Very David Price and AJ. Some fighters energy systems can't handle being hit.
Ben Davidson is a trainer who trains established fighters, already proven champions I’m sure I could do that tomorrow (open the gym in the morning and let them train as they know how) and they’d still win and I’d look like I knew what I was doing. why did he not tell Itauma to slow it down after 5 rounds, my 14 year old was saying Itauma was slowing down it was plain as day. No fighter has went from strength to strength under Davidson
For me he needs to get rid of Ben Davidson. Shane McGuigan would be perfect for him. I'd try to get the rematch ASAP but I think that will be unlikely, so for me its fights where he can get rounds, Joe Parker will be looking for a fight! Honestly think Itauma is still the future, learn from the experience and keep going, he showed tonight he more than belongs at this level. He will learn more from tonight than any win.
Awful corner work also. Ituama was loading up every shot after 3 or 4 rounds with a lead built BD should of been telling him box behind the jab, inexperience all posters said that correct. Amazingly fast hands and still a great future BUT even if he comes back stronger in the years ahead opponents will know ride out the storm and he may unravel, tags are hard to shake as we know in boxing. Thats the beauty of the sport tonight a fights never won until your hand is raised!
Agree on the trainer part, McGuigan would bring in a much better game plan and all round boxing knowledge. I'd avoid the rematch though, think Price vs Thompson 2 or Joyce v Zhang 2. Both fighters were never the same after immediate rematches that so easily could have been avoided.
Inexperience killed Moses tonight. I thought he boxed beautifully, and barely lost a round, but he was trying to get the job done and wasn't pacing himself… this is where I criticise the corner for not man managing a 21 year old through the fight, by getting him to box, take a round off when he was miles ahead on the cards, jab Hrgovic’s head off and not just try to take his head off. The kid’s shown a massive heart, a solid chin and everything else needed to be a future World champion. Massive respect to Hrgovic, seems a top bloke.
The last round was everything that's great about boxing. It was a great fight actually. Amazing drama, Itauma absolutely finished but still throwing bombs that were landing flush on Hergovic. It reminded me of Watson v Benn but was probably more like John L Sullivan v Gentlemen James Corbett. The fight was brilliant and was everything anyone could ask for after a pretty underwhelming undercard. I might be writing complete rubbish here but when he had those 2 points decisions early, I think he was 4-0 with 2 KOs, I did wonder about his power at elite level. Hindsight I know, but even people like Berlanga and Jimmy Sains knocked everyone out early only to see that dry up later. I really hope he comes back to win the championship but as many of you have said it's not going to be straightforward.