"It was the fatigue that got him, not the shots" - Abel Sanchez

You are not responding to my point. James Tillis was knocked out 3 times before he fought Tyson and went the distance with him no problem. Zhang did not hurt Hrgovic anyway he hit him on the back of the head.

 

The difference is the desire. Haye had an insatiable desire to be a world champion, especially a heavyweight world champ. Plus, he was a gym rat and always in shape. Itauma seems disinterested, kinda tubby and doesn't take training seriously. He has the tools, but does he have the mental drive like Haye?

 

Even if this is true, so what? You're admitting he's an unprofessional unfit **** with no stamina. It's like a marathon race that goes for 30 miles. A runner who's leading after 20 miles gasses out. Doesn't finish the last 10. The winner completes the whole thing and blitzes the last 10 miles.

" I was leading after 20 miles but I could no longer continue. I was tired. My body couldn't cope "

That's on him. You don't win by leading and then losing. Not being able to go the distance speaks volumes. By the way it wasn't just due to gassing. Hrgovic was landing. It's not Like he wasn't. Stop with the excuses.

 

Hrgovic himself said it wasn't his power, but his speed. He also said Adeleye hits harder. I rewatched that fight, and Adeleye did indeed hurt Hrgovic in multiple spots. Zhang and Dubois too. So his power is below theirs. Itauma never really hurt him, just buzzed him in rounds 1 and 2, and the KD was a flash KD that had more to do with balance that getting clocked hard. I think it's just Itauma's speed and accuracy that makes his power look more devastating than it actually is. Once his stamina dipped after round 2, Hrgovic was never really hurt, just weary of the speedy counters.

 

Yup. It's a risky strategy, and one not many fighters can get away with, but that's what good coaches and gameplans are for. Be interesting to see how long Hrgovic can get away with it though, because sooner or later surely that chin cracks hard.

 

This is spot on. If people can't comprehend this, they may as well wear a Cape, a hat and a magic wand as they're living in fairy land.

 

" my horse was winning the race until the final straight. Then it got tired and got overran "

Tough luck. You lost.

 

I've watched the fight three times now. He broke his leg.

 

My answer is that Filip is not exactly a tank. He can be hurt and he can be stopped. I understand the idea that some guys on given nights just refuse to be stopped. But Hrgo didn't just survive like a Tillis, he destroyed him, outmanned him, outphysicalled him so he was hauled away on a stretcher.

I will be shocked if Itauma ever amounts to anything after that sort of defeat, physical, mental, psychological...

 

Sweet science. Fatigue AND attrition got to Itauma. Lack of discipline. The standard weaknesses of a young inexperienced fighter vs someone who is well seasoned heavyweight.

Itauma head was served on a platter in round 9.

 

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Another good angle

 

Excellent points.

Reaching back to a much older fight, some try to frame the outcome of Ali vs Foreman as George primarily succumbing to fatigue - completely ignoring the extreme punishment Ali was meting out along the way.

That punishment def. hastened the emptying of Foreman’s tank and Ali finished him off with no mean right hand anyway.

 

I think Itauma will be fine.

Physically, he's 21, had barely taken any flush punches in his pro career leading up to the Hrgovic fight, had a very limited amateur career, and going into the last couple of rounds against Hrgovic, hadn't shipped a hell of a lot of punishment.

Mentally, he should be ok, too, as he has genuine reasons for why he lost, so these are things he can work on.

When people fail at something they make excuses. Sometimes these excuses are bull**** and are nothing more than a coping mechanism. In Itauma’s case, the excuses are valid. His major issues are his fitness, pacing, loading up on his shots too much, and lack of experience.

Going into the fight he admitted that he'd never sparred 12 rounds before in his life. He has also had dedication issues in the past. If he is honest with himself, doesn't bury his head in the sand, and truly wants to be the best he can be and dedicates himself to the sport then he can improve a lot. Obviously, that's not a given, but if he does, he can turn things around.

Often, fighters mentally broken by defeats are fighters who have been around the block a bit. They've worked themselves up through the levels and have worked hard. Once they get beat, it is hard to know what changes they can make that can show noticeable improvements. They can fine tune things and make small adjustments, but there is often not much they can do to get significant improvement. Mentally, that can be devastating. Itauma is not in that position. He has an amateurish set up, a trainer of dubious quality, he hasn't fully dedicated himself and done all he can to get the best out of himself, and he has only ever fought one man with any real talent and ambition. With the right mindset and dedication, these changes will elicit significant improvements.

What will also help here is that Itauma's flaws are easily fixable. Getting a young, inexperienced fighter fitter, to not load up on everything, and to pace himself properly is easier to fix than a lack of speed, power, punch resistance, or improving the skills of an experienced, older fighter.

 

He was only stopped once on cuts, never been legit knocked down in his entre career other than a back of the head shot from zhang. If that is not a tank I would love to know what is. He took big heavy shots from the guy who slept Frankin who went the distance with AJ. Concluding Itauma does not hit hard based on 1 fight vs a rock is silly.

Now you are arguing something else. We were talking about his power. I never said the fight was comparable to the Tillis fight, just that Tillis laughed off Tyson's best shots, didn't mean Tyson didn't hit hard.