Trainer Abel Sanchez says Filip Hrgovic is interested in fighting heavyweight contender Moses Itauma. He states that Hrgovic (19-1, 14 KOs) will be taking the remainder of 2025 off, but he’s still interested in fighting the young 20-year-old Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs).
Cut Above the Eye
Hrgovic suffered a deep cut above his right eye in his lopsided 10-round unanimous decision win over David Adeleye on August 16, and he’ll need time for that injury to heal.
Too Many Quick KOs, Too Little Development
Sanchez says he’s not sure if the Queensberry-promoted Moses Itauma is “the goods or not” at this stage of his career. He notes that he’s scored numerous early knockouts in the first round, and he believes that’s not good for his “development.” He states that sooner or later, Itauma is going to be tested, and it would be better if he’d gotten rounds in before then against good heavyweights.
Itauma’s Last Nine Fights
- 1st-round KOs: 6
- 2nd-second KOs: 3
Knocking out opposition this quickly suggests that Itauma isn’t being matched against the right fighters, as he should have been stepped up a long time ago. Although he’s 20, he looks closer to 28. Appearance-wise, Itauma seems closer to 30 than 21. He should have already been matched against contenders. There’s no real development going on when he’s knocking out fighters that fast.
What can go by is how Itauma looked in his last competitive fight in the amateurs against Stylianos Roulias. In that contest, Moses appeared stressed out with the way he was being walked down by the aggressive pressure-fighter Roulias, who showed no fear of him, and was just focused on landing as hard as he could when he would corner him. The way Itauma moved and held, it showed that he’s not comfortable with an opponent that fights back for a change.
Is Moses Itauma Really “the Goods”?
“Of course, we’d consider that. He is a rising star, and he has to go through some steps to get to the championship level. Who knows if he’s the goods or not. Filip would love a fight with him. I’ve discussed it with him and he would love a fight with him,” said trainer Abel Sanchez to Boxing News about Filip Hrgovic being interested in fighting Moses Itauma.
Interestingly, Moses has been matched in the same way as his older brother, Karol Itauma, with him being put in exclusively against lower-tier fighters. Like Moses, Karol scored a lot of fast knockouts in the early rounds in his first nine fights.
Lessons from Karol Itauma’s Fall
When Karol Itauma stepped up against a solid journeyman, Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna, who could take his punch, he was knocked out in the fifth round on January 28, 2023. It was the same identical matchmaking that Moses had been done, and Karol looked like gold until thrown in with a halfway decent fighter.
“I’d rather have him go three rounds rather than knocking somebody out in the first because it really says nothing of his development,” said Sanchez about Itauma. “He’s going to be tested in the future, and it would be nice to see him tested along the way.”
The Right Test: Frank Sanchez
The perfect opponent for Itauma to get some experience would have been Frank Sanchez, as that’s a fight that he could have taken in an IBF title eliminator to determine a mandatory for undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Itauma claims Sanchez wasn’t one of the names that were offered to him. He doesn’t say why he didn’t insist on fighting him, as that would have been the logical bout to take if he wanted to continue to improve. Itauma isn’t getting much out of rifling through these fighters:
- Dillian Whyte: 37
- Mariusz Wach: 45
- Mike Balogun: 41
- Dan Garber: 40
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