What an extraordinary turnaround at the O2. Itauma looked sensational early, his speed and power giving Hrgović all sorts of problems, and he dropped the Croatian in the second round. But Hrgović absorbed everything the 21-year-old threw at him and simply refused to go away.
Then the fight turned. Itauma began to tire badly after the sixth and Hrgović’s experience, chin and persistence took over. By the ninth, Itauma was completely spent. Hrgović battered him around the ring until Ben Davison threw in the towel, completing a remarkable comeback.
It is a stunning upset – and a historic one. Hrgovic becomes Croatia’s first heavyweight world champion, while Itauma suffers his first professional defeat after being anointed by so many as the division’s next king before he had even won a belt.
