The uppercut was a good punch. Hrgovic taking it doesn’t mean Itauma lacks power. It does show that landing cleanly wasn’t enough to make this opponent stop advancing.
There was plenty of effort behind those shots. Itauma committed heavily, often overswinging instead of mixing lighter punches with his harder ones. After misses, he had to regain his balance or get away, adding more work to an already exhausting attack.
CROWD ANGLE! The moment that SILENCED the O2 😳 #MosesHrgovic 🤳 pic.twitter.com/b2tWdvjgdl
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 30, 2026
Hrgovic kept following, giving him little time to rest. Even after the knockdown, he stayed patient and walked Itauma down. That pressure forced the younger fighter to spend energy moving and staying ready for punches, including when Hrgovic wasn’t throwing.
Once Hrgovic proved he could absorb those punches, Itauma needed to vary the force, stay balanced and save his hardest shots for better openings. Instead, he kept paying full price for punches that weren’t buying him enough breathing room.
Even while scoring points and banking rounds, Itauma fought with the body language of someone surviving a crisis rather than dictating terms. That kind of worry happens when a young fighter runs into a reality check in real time.
Hrgovic did not need to win every exchange to win the psychological war. Just by walking forward with a granite chin and an impassive stare, he kept Itauma in a state of high alert. Itauma could not relax or breathe. Being chased by a dangerous veteran who refuses to respect your power creates an exhausting sense of dread.
Before stepping in with Hrgovic, Itauma blasted through low-resistance journeymen plus faded names well past their prime. When opponents show up just for a paycheck, shell up immediately, or crumble after the first clean blow, fast hands look like devastating heavyweight power.
Against lower-tier fighters, blinding hand speed catches them completely off guard. Because they don’t have the durability or ring awareness to brace for impact, they fold from the shock of the punch rather than sheer concussive force. That creates the impression of a ferocious puncher when, in reality, it was quickness beating zero resistance.
Itauma had never fought beyond six rounds. The two opponents who took him that far, Kevin Nicolas Espindola and Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko, had losing records. Queensberry’s matchmaking had given him little experience of sustained return fire, much less handling it while tiring in unfamiliar later rounds. Hrgovic made him face both at once.
