Hrgovic is better than Itauma and deserved to win. Give him his credit

Yeah, good points. Itauma really blew a gasket, I think; the punch stats were pretty wild, and I don't want to reduce it to just that because obviously the fight had far more layers to it, but Itauma going for broke in the 8th like he had him hurt, when Hrgovic wasn't hurt once, was insane. It really reminded me of Haye vs. Thompson.

In hindsight, it was bad matchmaking; Bricktop stepped him up too many levels at once, and that combined with Fil's experience/excellent trainer versus Moses' inexperience, immaturity, and dog**** trainer really swung the pendulum at the end. Honestly, I don't really rate Hrgovic any higher than I already did, he was getting completely outboxed, and if Itauma had paced himself properly and stuck to his skills, he'd have won a wide decision.

 

the aftermath of the fight,
since following boxing since 1984, and seeing the boxing world in meltdown, i haven't seen anything like it..
once again...
a very big thank you to frank warren and queensberry!!!!!

 

Sarcasm on an elite level. Well done.

 

we don't need to start a petition!!!!!
get in touch with donald trump..
during the last world cup, how donald trump called the president of FIFA, and got the american player's red card reversed, allowing him to play, i'm sure he could contact the powers that be and work something out

 

Yeah to add to the sarcasm let's start comparing more boxing fights to marathons and long distance running, after all... it's more about completing the exercise rather than ohhh I don't know... boxing technique/landing uppercuts/using body shots.

Very similar sports!

 

I don't think Hrgovic is better than Itauma insofar as that he will end up having a better career than Itauma.

It came down to experience and conditioning. From a technique standpoint, Itauma is leagues above Hrgovic.

Hrgovic executed a sound strategy that was made possible from past experience. For instance, he blew himself out against Daniel Dubois, even though he was an experienced boxer in his thirties. Itauma blew himself out even more than Hrgovic did against Dubois, while demonstrating more skills, but the difference is that he is only 21. Hrgovic's stategy was also made possible by his excellent conditioning and punch resistance.

I think the two things can coexist; Hrgovic can be given credit for his attributes and what he did to win, while Itauma can be recognised as a boxer with a much higher ceiling than Hrgovic due to his superior talent.

 

Itauma doesn't have the ring-IQ, experience or skills to box to a decision like that. Whenever he tried to take breathers or slow down the pace Hrgovic pressured him and made him uncomfortable.

The sparrow-lunged diaper boy eventually got pummeled and had to leave on a stretcher. End of.

 

Dear Lord man.. you are really dedicated to this.

No, it’s about winning the fight, the actual objective of the sport.

Something you seem to think isn’t that important with regards to ranking, standing, or predicting potential match ups…

You don’t get to increase ranking by losing. DuBois had to build himself back up after losing to Joyce and Usyk, and now he’s rightfully looked at as a top 3 guy in the division.

People like you are acting like its an error or “hating” to judge Itauma based off of his actual results and record, because for you fan boys looking good and getting stopped seems to be some kind of achievement…

…and in many cases it is… but when you have out of this world hype going into a fight, that changes things.

 

In hindsight, sure... At the time, going from durable journeyman who's not been stopped to durable gatekeeper with limited power and a dodgy gas tank probably felt like the perfect next step.

And I don't know, you know, it wasn't a complete washout - if Itauma paced himself better, Hrgovic might've thrown more and landed more... Then again, maybe that would've meant Hrgovic was the one who gassed first then.

Ultimately, to use a crude phrase, "if your aunt had balls she'd be your uncle" - reality is what happened, happened.

 

He didn't get pummeled; he collapsed into the corner because his stamina is woeful. Hrgovic didn't even land anything. He just got outmanned by the more experienced guy who knows how to fight for 12 rounds. If Itauma had a better trainer and game plan, he'd have kept using Hrgovic's head as target practice, and not gone for broke in round 1 or round 8. He won every round on 2 cards and had him down. You really think a 21-year-old can't go back to the drawing board and learn how to do that for 3 more rounds?

 

Well, how you win is also important. I am definitely not a fanboy of Itauma. You won't find a single post from me, prior to this fight, praising Moses in anyway.

And if you do, I'll send you some money via PayPal as an apology. In fact, I said I was not that impressed with Itauma in the past, knocking over tomato cans.

But I became a fan post Hrgovic fight. I am shocked to see the level of hate from supposed boxing fans in this VERY YOUNG PROSPECT who is immensely talented, great for the sport, and is praised by everyone who LIVES and BREATHES boxing as either a current or past professional boxer.

The hate is unreal. The saltiness is overdone.

Again, congrats to Hrgovic for outlasting Moses.

 

"He didn't land anything..."

No, he only landed 20+ bodyshots and bruised up his face so he started wincing in pain. In round 3 he already launched a right hand on his jaw which made Itauma wince and try to clinch. I encourage you to rewatch the fight or highlights before repeating the deranged damage control the media and fanboys are spouting.

Get off the hypetrain.

"If he did this he would have won, blabla".

It's like saying if Usyk had stopped moving and feinting so much AJ and Dubois could have KO'd him, lol.

 

You're not being objective. You've also misread what I said; I didn't say he didn't land anything throughout the fight, I said he didn't land a knockout punch to finish the fight. He also got out landed in every single round aside from the 9th, including the rounds where he was apparently "turning the tide" - it is possible to give Hrgovic credit for the win and for leveraging his experience masterfully while also admitting that he was clearly losing the fight until Itauma fell off a cliff in the 9th. He said it himself.

Go watch Hrgovic interviews after the fight; he talks about how he was clearly losing and getting hit with shots he didn't even see, and that Itauma is the most talented heavyweight in the division. Is he a fanboy as well?

 

didn't land anything?????
the fight was billed as
WITNESS HISTORY!!!!
in more ways than one, it was..
but for you to say hrgovic landed nothing, were you intoxicated??
blind drunk???
stoned??
willy pep once won a round without throwing a punch
the roy jones vinny pazienza fight, i think it was the 5th round, and paz threw no more than 3 punches..
teddy atlas only giving hrgovic credit how he behaved, and what he did at the weigh-in
in the annals of boxing history, it's going to be interesting how this fight is going to be looked at 20-30 years from now..
but in the present, the hype of itauma,
the way hrgovic was overlooked
the outcome of the fight, and aftermath
watch the fight again!!!
hrgovic did land!!!

 

When I said he didn't land anything, I meant he didn't land a knockout punch; he didn't land anything that significant in the lead-up to the stoppage. I didn't say he didn't land anything all fight; he definitely had his moments and had the right game plan to take it into the later rounds. I gave him round 5, so that would've been hard to give him if he hadn't landed anything.