Moses Itauma urged to fight for British title as future discussed after ‘inexcusable’ defeat

Moses Itauma will need to return and try to gain experience at a domestic level after a shock defeat to Filip Hrgovic.

That is the verdict of the talkBOXING panel including Simon Jordan and Spencer Oliver, who have analysed the 21-year-old’s shock defeat.

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Itauma had been compared to all the greats of the past and faced the giant Croatian hoping to become the second youngest champion in the division ever.

But after dominating the early stages, the British southpaw ran out of steam and was stopped late on to be handed his first career defeat.

Many are pinning the blame on Itauma’s trainer Ben Davison, while trying to find the reasons for his defeat in an inquest.

In a first reaction to the shock loss, talkSPORT pundit Jordan went on a rant, suggesting his lack of physical and mental conditioning were the key factors.

He said on the latest episode: “I looked at this 21-year-old and I thought, where is the strength and conditioning?

“The question always was, ‘would he be able to go deep into the fight?’. And that is precisely where Hrgovic took him in to.

“Is there an element here that it is almost f**king inexcusable for a 21-year-old fighter to fight in the way he did.

“He gasses out in a fight which effectively hands it to Hrgovic, he didn’t do much damage to Moses but wore him out on his chin.”

Paul Smith agreed and suggested he needed someone to help him with controlling the tempo of the bout.

But he expects Itauma to still learn valuable lessons and go on to dominate the division.

He added: “After watching that fight, I’d put my house on Moses dominating the division and becoming a champion.

“But I think he just lacked physical fitness, and needed someone to say to him, ‘slow it down and take some off’.

“It just suited Hrgovic perfectly because he was unloading with no regard for what was coming back.

“You knew if it went past seven or eight rounds, that would pay dividends for Hrgovic.”

Who should Itauma fight next when he returns?

Now, many are questioning what is next for Itauma, who himself requested an immediate rematch afterwards.

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However, he is expected to take time to recover beforehand before assessing what is next, promoter Frank Warren told talkSPORT.

When giving an opinion on potential options for Itauma’s return, talkSPORT’s Spencer Oliver suggested Itauma fight for a British title.

He put forward current champion Richard Riakporhe as a perfect level for his return to try and build more experience.

Riakporhe was ringside and would likely be a viable option should Itauma want to try and win the Lonsdale belt.

Paul Smith then suggested rugged veteran Joe Joyce as a surprise option, despite ‘The Juggernaut’ having lost four of his last five fights.

Having brutally knocked out Dillian Whyte and Jermaine Franklin beforehand, he may hope to return at a higher level than touted.

But the key from Itauma’s camp is to try and explore options to give him more experience to build a new world title charge.