Itauma owned the faster hands and greater early explosion, but Hrgovic took away his punching room through collar ties, short right hands, and physical work inside. Those tactics forced the younger fighter to wrestle for space while already burning energy. Itauma’s previous early knockouts had never required him to solve that type of problem under fatigue.
Hearn’s use of the Dubois loss as proof of Hrgovic’s limitations is also unconvincing. Severe cuts ended their competitive 2024 fight after eight rounds, although Dubois had hurt Hrgovic late in the seventh. Dubois later knocked out Joshua, validating his pl
