Online Reporter
Croatia’s 2016 Olympic bronze winner was supposed to be the ultimate step-up opponent and a genuine threat to Itauma’s hype train.
But he lost all of the first seven rounds in an incredible clash for the vacant IBF heavyweight world title. A right hand in round eight changed all of that, though.
Itauma, the kid he vowed to “smash back to high school” was knocked out on his feet and he took a beating in the ninth before he was rescued by the ref — just as the towel was thrown in.
It was an astonishing comeback win for Hrgovic that saw Itauma, 21, stretchered out of the ring.
Respected Brits from Olympic silver-winner Joe Joyce to dangerous contender David Adeleye and tough gatekeeper Dave Allen were all beaten up by “El Animal” Hrgovic in the last 16 months.
He had looked superb against Daniel Dubois too but was stopped on cuts.
Friday’s weigh-in was the first time ice-cool customer Itauma got heated, shoving Hrgovic off the Spitalfields market stage.
His rival slapped him in retaliation and in the opening rounds it looked the worst mistake he could have made. Instead of intimidating the prospect 13 years his junior, he lit a fire that he could not live with, let alone extinguish.
But one huge right hand changed that and the whole trajectory of British boxing.
Because Itauma was out on his feet for a full couple of minutes, shipping shots and slowly succumbing in front of the O2 sell-out crowd his early promise had built. Superstars were ringside for the milestone fight.
Noel Gallagher tipped an early Itauma win before WBO heavyweight king Dubois got in the ring to announce his heavyweight rematch with dethroned Fabio Wardley on October 17. AJ and the Gypsy King — while dragging their feet over their November 20 targeted clash — chose to stay away.
Howard Foster was the ref between almost 35st of muscle and testosterone as the Slovakia-born Kent sensation and 6ft 6in Croat went to war.
The visitor was bidding to become his nation’s first ever heavyweight world champ as Itauma was on track to take over the mantle of British boxing.
After the national anthems, Hrgovic chose to stick a few punches on his own chin, in an effort to brace himself for the oncoming onslaught.
Itauma carried that on as the Brit’s early work was a brilliant blur of rasping jabs and drove lefts down low.
A right hook from the Kent southpaw clipped Hrgovic around the temple and he stumbled. Itauma went long left to the body and lead hook to the head, it was superb work beyond his years. Hrgovic was punished as soon as the second started with a right hook around the nut again that dropped him for a count of eight.
But the Croat was no pushover, he pressured and punched but compared to Itauma it looked like his limbs were moving through treacle.
It was not just attacking excellence either, Itauma was ducking, blocking and rolling shots in the second and third.
But he was caught by the biggest punch of his young career when Hrgovic clipped him with a lead left hook. Hrgovic’s granite chin was impressing everyone in the fourth but the paper-thin skin on his eyebrows was tearing.
The Croat did land a big right hand but it did him no favours as Itauma wrestled back the round —Sun.
