Moses Itauma says the IBF heavyweight title slipped through his hands because his body simply stopped responding. The 21-year-old from Chatham dominated Filip Hrgovic for long stretches of their August world title fight, then ran out of gas and was stopped in the ninth round. Nearly two months on, he is not hiding from it — and his promoter is already plotting the route back.
“For a long time, I couldn’t accept it had happened,” Itauma told talkSPORT. “I was winning the fight so comfortably, and then all of a sudden my body just started shutting itself down.”
It was the first defeat of Itauma’s career, amateur or professional. He had won all 14 of his professional bouts before the night, 12 of them inside the distance, and had been widely tipped as the most exciting young heavyweight in Britain.
How the fight unravelled
On paper, the challenge always looked steep. Hrgovic, 34, won Olympic bronze in 2016 and arrived with a record of 20 wins and one defeat, 15 of those victories inside the distance. But for seven rounds, the veteran was being outboxed by a fighter nearly half his professional age.
Itauma scored a knockdown in the second round when Hrgovic’s glove touched the canvas, a 10-8 frame that padded his lead. By the halfway point he was ahead on every scorecard — up on two of the three cards with all eight rounds banked, and ahead on the third except for the seventh.
Then the tank emptied. Speaking to talkSPORT, Itauma described the moment his legs went: “It was all the way till a minute before the fight stopped. I didn’t have a worry, and it was only a couple of minutes into round nine that I started moving in slow motion, and he was in fast motion.”
“It was like I just couldn’t do anything,” he added. “Obviously, the exhaustion must have kicked in, but at no point in that fight was I like, ‘Oh, I’m messing up’.”
Hrgovic piled on the pressure and completed a come-from-behind stoppage. Itauma later counted it as only the third round he had ever lost in his boxing career — and it happened to come with the heavyweight championship of the world on the line.
“I attempted greatness, and I fell short”
The defeat clearly stung. Itauma admitted it took time to process, but his public framing has been remarkably composed.
“I’m not tripping over it. I attempted greatness, and I fell short,” he said. “Even though I didn’t get the decision I wanted, I was proud of my performance. For the knowledge I had, for the talent I had, and for the experience I had, I put on a good show.”
In his first interview since the loss, speaking to BBC South East and Radio Kent, Itauma reached for an unusual way to describe the disappointment. “I always say I’d rather be third than second because if you’re third you know you couldn’t be number one,” he said. “When you’re second you know you could have been number one. So that’s exactly how I feel. I’m just gutted.”
Still, the maths of his age and record keeps him optimistic. “Nevertheless, I’m 21. I’m 15 fights in. Of course I’m going to have my opportunity again,” he said.
He also believes the lesson could only have been learned the hard way. “It taught me a lot. I walked away from the fight knowing there was something I learnt there that I couldn’t get from sparring, reading books or what the coach would be able to tell me,” he said. “What happened there I had to see for myself. I’ll be back.”
Hrgovic’s blunt verdict on the man he beat
The new champion has been surprisingly generous in assessing the fighter he stopped. Hrgovic called Itauma “really good, special, very fast” and the most “talented kid” he had ever faced — but he also pointed at the psychological cliff-edge a first defeat can create.
“It was big shock for him, big humiliation, so maybe it’s end of his career if he’s not mentally tough,” Hrgovic said. “If he recovers from this loss, mentally, it will be hard for anyone to ever beat him again.”
Itauma’s answer to that challenge has been to insist nothing fundamental has changed. “My identity as a boxer is still deeply rooted in me. A loss is not going to change that,” he said. “I lost a boxing fight, that’s it.”
Warren plans a ‘risky’ January return
Promoter Frank Warren is not easing his fighter back gently. He told Sky Sports that Itauma will return in January in a genuine test rather than a soft rebuild — and he is candid about the danger in that approach.
“It’ll be a decent fight. He’s got to be in with somebody who’s going to give him a test,” Warren said. “When you’re coming off a loss any comeback fight is a risky fight. He’ll be wanting to go out there with something to prove.”
Warren wants Itauma busy, not cautious. “He wants to be back in the mix so he’s going to be very active next year. Straight in, no messing about,” the promoter said. “He could fight any of them. Because if he wins he’ll be straight back into, I think, the top half of the rankings.”
Warren also defended the quality of Itauma’s performance despite the defeat, noting that the young heavyweight kept firing even as fatigue took hold. “Hrgovic managed to absorb the punishment. Even when [Itauma] was blowing he was still throwing shots, even when he got caught he was still trying to fight back,” Warren said. “He did tick some other boxes as far as I was concerned.”
The 2027 title picture: Sanchez first, then maybe a rematch
An immediate rematch with Hrgovic is off the table for now, because the Croatian must first face his IBF mandatory challenger, Frank Sanchez. Warren is working to stage that defence as a homecoming in Croatia.
“We’re looking at putting him on in Croatia, we’re working hard to make that happen, that’s his dream,” Warren said of Hrgovic.
Sanchez’s manager, Mike Borao, told Sky Sports the bout is being targeted for the first quarter of 2027. “Everything is tracking well so far. Frank [Sanchez] is confident he’ll win and is eager for his chance to become world champion,” Borao said. “Hrgovic is elite and won’t be an easy opponent, but I fully expect Frank to get the job done.”
For Itauma, the sequencing matters. Win in January, stay active through 2026, and he could be positioned for another title shot in 2027 — against Hrgovic if the Croatian retains, or against one of the other champions in the division. Warren promotes not only Itauma and Hrgovic but also WBC titleholder Agit Kabayel and WBO champion Daniel Dubois, giving him unusual control over how the heavyweight picture is assembled.
Itauma, for his part, is already looking at the calendar. He said he was “100%” confident his next world title challenge would come in 2027.
Chatham behind him
Itauma was born in Slovakia to a Slovakian mother and Nigerian father. He and his brothers suffered racial abuse, and the family moved to Kent, where he grew up in Chatham. He says the town’s support has mattered to him since the defeat.
“I remember after the fight I went to the gym, and this guy was so starstruck to see me. He said ‘I walked the same road that you walked, I went to the same school that you did’,” Itauma recalled. “The only difference between us is I put one or two hours aside to focus on my boxing. He did say he’s coming to my next fight, and I thanked him. I really appreciate it.”
“Life is about adrenaline, pressure, high expectations,” he added. The January opponent has not been confirmed, but the plan is set: one risky night to earn another shot at the belt he came within nine rounds of winning.
FAQ
Who won the Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic fight?
Filip Hrgovic stopped Moses Itauma in the ninth round of their IBF heavyweight title fight in August 2026. Itauma had been ahead on the scorecards, including a second-round knockdown, before exhaustion set in late in the contest.
When is Moses Itauma's next fight?
Promoter Frank Warren says Itauma will return in January 2027 in a genuine test. No opponent has been confirmed, but Warren wants the 21-year-old to stay active and work back into the top half of the rankings.
Can there be an immediate Itauma-Hrgovic rematch?
Not yet. Hrgovic must first fulfil his IBF mandatory obligation against Frank Sanchez, a fight being targeted for the first quarter of 2027 and which Warren hopes to stage in Croatia.
What has Itauma said about the defeat?
Itauma said his body began shutting down in the ninth round after he had dominated the early rounds. He called it the third round he had ever lost in his career, said he was proud of his performance, and insisted he will be back, with a title challenge in 2027 his target.