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.