Filip Hrgovic is buoyant after the biggest victory of his career against 21-year-old phenom Moses Itauma. Reflecting on his win, the newly crowned IBF heavyweight world champion admitted it could be difficult for Itauma to bounce back from such a “humiliating” defeat.
Most fans and pundits expected Itauma to dispatch of Hrgovic with relative ease and begin a long reign atop the division, but his Zagreb-born dance partner did not read the script and instead derailed the Itauma hype train.
Despite being outboxed throughout, Hrgovic was able to withstand the power and pressure of boxing’s top prospect and – once the inexperienced favourite had run out of steam – capitalised on the exhaustion of the Briton to close the show in round nine.
Speaking with The Guardian, Hrgovic was full of praise for Itauma, declaring him to be a ‘special talent’ and stating that it will be hard for anyone to ever beat him again, if he is able to bounce back.
“He’s really good. He’s special. Very fast, very talented and he countered whatever I tried with his speed and timing. I never was in the ring before with such a talented kid, with such a fast guy. You have some fast guys but they’re small heavyweights. You can handle them with your power but this kid is fast and big.
“He’s got great IQ and great talent. If he recovers from this loss, mentally, it will be hard for anyone to ever beat him again.”
However, whilst recognising the skill of the heavyweight prodigy, ‘El Animal’ went on to state that the ‘humiliating’ defeat could potentially result in the ‘end of Itauma’s career’.
“We’ll see [if he can bounce back]. It was a big shock for him, a big humiliation, so maybe it’s the end of his career if he’s not mentally tough.
“A lot of people, after that kind of loss, never come back. It will be a hard journey for him to come back but if he recovers and he does not lose his confidence then, with this experience, I think no one will ever beat him again.”
Itauma has since requested a rematch with Hrgovic, but the Croatian looks set to take on Cuba’s Frank Sanchez in a first attempted title defence.
Meanwhile, Itauma is anticipated to return to action in early 2027.
