It was a classic case of conditioning issues and inexperience, alongside a protected resume, finally catching up with the young phenom. Itauma collapsed into the turnbuckle late from pure exhaustion, which forced the corner to throw in the towel. Hrgovic makes history as Croatia’s first heavyweight world champion.
The 21-year-old Brit opened fast, dropping Hrgovic during round two with precise punches. Itauma built an early lead across the middle rounds through crisp flurries plus dedicated body work. Hrgovic showed off his granite chin, soaking up heavy artillery while remaining dangerous inside the pocket.
Things flipped once the contest pushed past six rounds, taking Itauma into uncharted territory. His output plummeted, his technique unraveled, then his gas tank hit empty. Hrgovic maintained steady forward momentum. Itauma stumbled badly after missing a right hand, fell against the ropes, prompting his corner to end the bout. It delivered pure drama following their heated weigh-in scuffle, proving veteran toughness outlasts raw explosiveness over the long haul.
One could see it happening slowly after the five rounds, as Itauma had his mouth wide open, sucking air like a fish out of water, showing the classic signs of a fighter unequipped for fast-paced fights that move beyond 4 rounds. More than that. Itauma just wasn’t used to getting hit back due to the poor opposition his Queensberry promoters had matched him against. They did him no favors by matching him the way they did, and tonight was an example of what happens when promoters do this to their fighters.
Hrgovic Credits His Faith and Camp
Hrgovic admitted Itauma had outboxed him through much of the fight and credited the comeback to his Christian faith.
“It was not me tonight. It was Jesus Christ in me. Holy Spirit.”
He said he had been losing every round and did not know where the energy for his ninth-round attack came from. Hrgovic attributed the late surge to the Holy Spirit.
The new champion also thanked Abel Sanchez for getting him into the best condition of his career, manager Keith Connolly for changing his life and the rest of his team for building what he called a perfect training camp. Itauma had won the boxing match through eight rounds, but Hrgovic’s preparation and endurance kept him alive long enough to reverse it.
The win makes Hrgovic Croatia’s first heavyweight world champion.
Queensberry Promotions has a big decision to make about whether they put their young fighter, Itauma, back in with Hrgovic again for a rematch. It’s not a good sign that Itauma had to be taken out of the ring on a stretcher after the contest. They would be taking a big risk with Itauma if they put him back in with Hrgovic. If he loses again, his career would be irreparably damaged, and it would be hard to come back from it.
On the flip side, they can’t return him long-term to the type of opposition that they’d been matching him against for the last 3 years since he turned pro. Before tonight’s fight, Itauma had faced largely older fighters in their 40s and late 30s. Queensberry had done an admirable job of making him look invincible, but it had done nothing to develop him. We saw tonight that Itauma wasn’t remotely prepared for an opponent that could take him past six rounds and hit him back.
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