Next Steps for Moses Itauma
Moses Itauma suffered his first professional loss on Saturday and we look at what the next steps are for the young Brit.
Moses Itauma suffered a devastating loss at the hands of Croatian Filip Hrgovic on Saturday night. Failing to seize his opportunity to become the IBF heavyweight champion of the world, Itauma gassed out in the ninth round, forcing the referee to step in.
There are plenty of people hypothesising what went wrong for Itauma, and we're going to look at what could be next for the young Brit. At just 21, he'll come again, but he'll have to make some changes.
What's Next for Moses Itauma?
Trainer
Ben Davison has taken a lot of stick for his handling of Moses Itauma. In interviews, Itauma admitted to never having sparred 12 rounds ahead of his world title fight. A worrying admission before a world title fight.
đź‘€ "How often have you gone 12 intense rounds in training and how confident are you in a fight that goes that distance?"
— EverythingBoxing | Darshan Desai (@EverythingBoxi2) August 30, 2026
Moses Itauma: "If I'm being completely honest, I don't know if I've done a 12-round spar. I might have but I wouldn't recall."
"Is there any part of you that… pic.twitter.com/KYcmk6LjCN
With that being said, a fighter will rarely spar 12 hard rounds in training. Ricky Hatton was famous for never sparring 12 rounds, but sparring eight hard rounds and completing 12 rounds on the bag.
Let's not forget, Moses Itauma had won all seven rounds prior to the stoppage. The game plan was solid; it was working, but it's clear that he needed to rein in his output in order to be able to complete the fight. When it was clear that Hrgovic wasn't going to fall, Davison should have told Itauma to compose himself, maybe even take a round off and reset. The issue is, Itauma doesn't have the experience himself and needed to have relied on Davison to give him the advice.
Whether Itauma needs to change coaches isn't clear yet, but he needs to be careful not to jump the gun.
Opponents
Picking the next opponent for Itauma is going to be both interesting and difficult.
We know what boxing is like. Fighters will amass a record of 20-0 before fighting anyone of any worth. Itauma's record already has several strong names on it. Naturally, he's going to take a step backwards in competition; however, we can't allow him to take too big a step backwards.
Tony Yoka was a hugely respected prospect coming out of the 2016 Olympic Games. He beat Hrgovic and Joe Joyce on his way to gold. His professional career hasn't quite gone to plan, losing three straight in 2022/2023, however, he's now put four straight wins together. It's a logical next step to make for Itauma.
Another potential next opponent for Itauma is Hughie Fury. He carries the Fury name and is a recognisable name within British boxing circles. He's got a record of 31-3, only losing to some of the best fighters out there. He's enjoying an eight-fight winning run, although there isn't anyone with a huge name value on that list.
The final potential fight would be against Kristian Prenga. The Albanian has just been in there with Anthony Joshua and gave AJ a scare. He dropped the former heavyweight champion on two occasions before ultimately being stopped by the Brit. It would be a fight where fans could compare AJ and Itauma's performances against Prenga. Fans and media like to do this, especially with young, British heavyweights. Prenga could give Itauma rounds, something he desperately needs.
