Moses Itauma LOSES to Filip Hrgovic as towel thrown in

Moses Itauma LOSES to Filip Hrgovic as towel thrown in Moses Itauma was stopped by Filip Hrgovic in a dramatic ninth round as the Brit suffered a shock world title defeat Filip Hrgovic spoiled Moses Itauma’s coronation after stopping the Brit in their heavyweight title showdown. It was Itauma who was quick off the blocks and eager to make a statement - pressing right against his foes face and making it a living hell for the Croatian. Midway through the round, the energetic young lion fired off a nice one-two, which stunned Hrgovic. But the worst was yet to come. The opening stanza saw Itauma merely playing with his food as he tagged Hrgovic with a sharp right hand. A ripping shot to the body closed off what was a sensational first three minutes for the Brit. In the second, Itauma clearly sensed he had rattled his adversary as he continued to damage his rival with a shot to the body. Seconds later, and Hrgovic was knocked down for the first time in the fight. The Croatian was back to his feet in a flash, but Itauma refused to back down. The 21–year-old’s speed was on full display early doors. Hrgovic offered a glimpse on the frontfoot, but Itauma’s top notch defence got him out of trouble, before firing off a piercing combination to wobble the experienced heavyweight again. A stinging jab from Itauma followed by a crunching right up top kicked off the third. Hrgovic was struggling to have any luck as he was constantly beaten to every punch. A clubbing right had Hrgovic on the ropes yet again, but his best moment in the early rounds came when he clipped Itauma in the pocket. The Croatian certainly turned the tide in the third stanza as he began to assert his dominance and take control of proceedings. Itauma knew he would have to show some adversity at some point, but in the fourth, he shrugged off the nerves he may have had in the third and began to assert his dominance again, tagging Hrgovic with a pin-point right hand. Hrgovic was on his bike for the majority of the fourth, while Itauma closed off the round with a shot to the body followed by a ripper up top. The early damage from Itauma seemed to cause some bleeding on Hrgovic’s face. From the southpaw stance, Itauma was starting to pepper his foe with the jab and make the Croatian guess. Consecutive one-twos for Itauma briefly sent Hrgovic pedalling before the British behemoth closed the round with a jaw-dropping uppercut. As chants of “Moses Itauma” around the arena, the 21-year-old wanted to put on a show. He was in cruise control, firing off stinging shots upstairs from all angles, but Hrgovic seemed to counter well. The pair engaged in a phone-booth type exchange to close a chaotic sixth. Just past the midway point, the pair were involved in a rather tactical chess match, jabbing away at each other. But towards the back end, Itauma caught his rival with a right shot up top which backed the Croatian against the ropes briefly. A thunderous left to the body by Itauma kicked off the eighth. The Chatham hero could sense his foe was starting to fade by the minute as he fired off several cracking strikes to the body which seemed to drain the life out of Hrgovic. But out of nowhere, Hrgovic could sense Itauma was getting rather tired. The Zagreb warrior went on the attack in the ninth, unleashing a barrage of punches - which seemed to severely damage Itauma, causing him to retreat. Against the ropes and with nowhere to go, the Brit did his best to offer some sort of offence on the backfoot, but Hrgovic was having none of it. Some quick thinking allowed Itauma to retreat, but it was only a matter of time before Hrgovic went in for the stoppage.’El Animal’ towered over the Brit, firing off more shots before the Brit’s corner threw in the towel to spare their man from taking any more damage.