Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic scorecards are tough to read after the surprise loss.
The judges’ scorecards from Saturday’s Moses Itauma vs. Filip Hrgovic fight in London showed that Itauma was actually closing in on a win, even though he lost.
Itauma had a strong lead on points going into the ninth round at the O2 Arena, but the 21-year-old southpaw lost his chance at the vacant IBF heavyweight title when the referee, Howard Foster, stopped the fight.
Itauma, born in Slovakia, is known as one of the top young talents in British boxing. Before this fight, he had a perfect record with 14 wins, 12 of them by knockout. But in the ninth round, after trying hard for a 13th knockout at the end of the eighth, he struggled.
Hrgovic saw the opportunity, and with 33 seconds left in the round, the referee ended the fight in Hrgovic’s favor. That was the Croatian’s only chance to win. The scorecards showed Itauma had won every round so far – two judges gave him 80-71, and the third had it 79-72.
Itauma, who his opponent said “fought like an amateur,” suffered a leg injury and exhaustion during the fight and had to be taken to the hospital. He was a bit too eager in what turned out to be the second-to-last round and paid the price for it.
BBC Sport said, “The eighth round showed both Itauma’s amazing skill and his lack of experience. He threw more punches than in any other round, using up his energy trying to take down a man who was very hard to beat.”
There were also questions about Itauma’s preparation. He’d never gone past six rounds in a fight before and admitted he’d never sparred for 12 rounds. His fitness wasn’t quite ready for a championship fight, and that’s not all on him – his team also shares that responsibility.
Itauma has been strong so far in his career. His last six wins were in fights that could last up to 10 rounds, but only once did he go past the second round – when he fought Jermaine Franklin, stopping him in the fifth. He also defeated Dillian Whyte and Demsey McKean in just the first round. His two wins by decision were over three years ago in six-round fights, which shows how important it is for him to work on his conditioning as he moves up the ranks.
Itauma has been the Commonwealth heavyweight champion for a year but hasn’t defended his title yet, after beating Whyte in Riyadh last October.
On Saturday, he missed his first big chance to join the sport’s elite, leaving the more experienced Hrgovic to take the IBF heavyweight belt. The 34-year-old Hrgovic lost only once professionally, two years ago against WBO champ Daniel Dubois, and now is a world heavyweight champion for the first time.