Carl Froch delivers verdict on Filip Hrgovic upset of Moses Itauma

On August 29, at the O2 Arena in London, Filip Hrgovic recorded a massive upset win over heavyweight phenom Moses Itauma to become the new IBF heavyweight champion. After a dramatic night in London, Carl Froch gave his honest reaction to the bout, comparing it to an early fight which David Haye had in his career.

Moses Itauma (14-1, 12 KOs) came into the ring on August 29 as the red-hot favourite against Filip Hrgovic (21-1, 16 KOs). For much of the fight, the Brit teed off on his Croatian opponent as he varied his attacks, changing his levels impressively. He landed several eye-catching power shots throughout the fight, with Hrgovic only touching down in round two, but taking many of Itauma’s best shots. 

Itauma began to tire, and Hrgovic came more into the fight, timing his big right hand well. His bodywork also seemingly began to have an adverse effect on the 21-year-old Itauma. As Hrgovic began to increase the tempo and Itauma looked almost in a zombified state, the referee stepped in as the towel came in from Ben Davison. What a win for Hrgovic, the new IBF heavyweight champion!

Reflecting on Itauma’s early dominance, Froch said:

“He looked explosive, powerful, accurate! He looked like he was hurting Hrgovic! He had him down in round 2 or 3. It was a flash knockdown, but he still went down. His glove touched the floor. He just landed accurate shots.” 

Discussing the turning point in the fight, and comparing it to David Haye’s defeat to Carl Thompson in 2004, Froch said:

“As Moses Itauma slowed down, Hrgovic was comfortable and seeing the fact that Moses was slowing down, and then he managed to get closer to him and start to clip him and catch him. What happened to Moses Itauma was very similar to David Haye, the former cruiserweight and heavyweight world champion. What a fighter he was. He got stopped by Carl The Cat Thompson in an early fight.

“I think he’d had 10 or 11 fights, unbeaten…they chucked him in with Thompson, who was about 40 years old at the time, and David Haye was dominating, similar to the way Itauma was dominating against Hrgovic, but he got tired! He blew a gasket.”

Discussing the importance of experience, Carl Froch said:

“Professional boxing is a marathon, not a sprint. When you’re putting them big shots together, explosive power and putting everything into your punches, you tend to hold your breath a little bit. Just inexperience, and what happened to him was similar to what happened to David Haye. He ran out of steam. He got tired very quickly after round seven, round eight, and going into round nine, he was all over the place,” said Froch.

“The experience in professional boxing over 12 rounds, you can’t buy it. You need those rounds, and I think Moses Itauma, well, I’m sure, I’m positive, he will come again. But this is a bad loss for a young 21-year-old who’s been compared to the likes of Mike Tyson,” added Froch.

This is a huge setback for Moses Itauma, and the manner of the defeat will cause him and his team to look at their tactics and preparation for the fight.

Itauma could have controlled the distance with his footwork and counter Hrgovic as he fell in all night. But it appeared he wanted to put on a show more than anything, and knock the Croat out. However, the granite chin of Hrgovic had other ideas, and helped him stick around until Itauma tired drastically, and the Croat pounced and got the stoppage.

Itauma has the time and attributes to come back and become a world champion. But before then, he needs to rest and overcome the demons of this defeat.

Featured Image Credit:

Leigh Dawney – Queensberry Promotions