I believe he will return. And I hope he comes back stronger. Some of you have already put a fork in him. That aside... Who should he face next? Clearly he has a lack of experience in 12 rounders and going the distance. He has stamina and conditioning issues that need addressing. And of course pacing, but that's an easy enough fix as its a choice. Give Itauma someone easy (build up fight) and he will just KO them early = doesn't get the experience. Give Itauma someone who is durable but less dangerous than Hrgovic and he might get some much needed rounds in... who would that be? Franklin and Wach were known to be durable guys taken the distance by many hard hitters... and Itauma dispatched them early. Richard riakporhe was mentioned... but is he too dangerous as a comeback fight?
Parker? He can't go back to the level he was previously boxing at because the Hrgo fight showed he is classes above that. I do wonder if they could get him straight in with Gassiev if he fought and beat Parker comprehensively?
take the rematch. you arent fighting someone who is better offensively than you are, you arent fighting someone who is better defensively than you are, you are fighting someone who was better prepared physically to fight. Fix that part and finish the job.
Moses Jolly would be ideal. A decent journeyman like Solomon Dacres or Brandon Moore would be okay. Or if they want a 100% certain win, someone like Kash Ali would fit the bill. Richard Riakporhe is a very good boxer, he's underrated right now. He would be an excellent opponent in a year or two, but too risky for Itauma right now coming off a stoppage loss. I agree, but he's with Zuffa now.
Parker is experienced, crafty, relatively durable, not too old yet, and can fight 12 rounds. You really want to throw Ituama right in with him? Best I can think of is that he needs a schedule like a young Mike Tyson had. Fight once a month or more. Find every journeyman who hasn't ever been stopped. That kind of thing.
Parker won't be nearly as easy to light up as Hrgovic was. Then again, he'd probably have been downed by some of the shots that Hrgovic ate without issue. I do think Parker should be on the list. But only after some more seasoning.
Now that his handlers better understand his weaknesses they have a bit of a dilemma. They don't want him to lose as they need to build his confidence a little bit but it also has to be an opponent that can take him the distance if possible. To me, this sounds like it might take a couple of fights to achieve. Finding a guy to go the distance won't be that easy. Jarrell Miller would be a good choice but he is in position for a title shot. Knyba might not be bad but I don't think he would make it more than midway through the fight. Frank Sanchez may work.
Jared anderson already threw his hat in the ring by trashing itaumas performance. And I think that would be good opponent. Enough of a name with zero risk and he could do a few rounds if he finally wants to start approaching fights a bit slower to get the feeling for longer fights. When itauma Starts outpointing guys, he will be even better
British level At least for 2 to 3 fights Warren needs to reset the idea the kid is a PPV fighter and let him fight on undercards