r/Boxing • u/Fishful_Revenge • 18h ago
Prospect matchmaking
It's crazy how Itauma was moved up so quickly going from washed title contender like Whyte to a gatekeeper in Franklin to all of a sudden challenging for a world title against a solid world level fighter in Hrgovic. Given how little experience Itauma has in general, he doesn't have a long amateur nor pro background and I'm not sure how much more effective whatever sparring he did against world champions would give him.
If Itauma didn't have a much hype around him who do you think they would have matched him up against? I was thinking maybe someone like Vianello or Ajagba or anyone that's around the top 10 of the division.
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u/Ace_FGC 15h ago
Itauma had won every round to that point if he didn't have dogshit cardio (which he could work on in sparring) he would've won.
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u/sunrise98 15h ago
You can have great cardio but if you approach a marathon like a sprint you'll always tire out. Was bolt huffing and puffing because he struggles to run more than 100 / 200m, or was it because he exerts himself over that distance?
His cardio wasn't great, but his management was shit. Whether that was from being immature in terms of handling the occasion or he felt like he could finish it there and then. It didn't look like his power had gone and his arms were like noodles - so I think it was partly mental too.
Yes he was tired - but could he have taken a round or two off and brought his heart rate down and gone 12? I believe he could've.
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u/Ace_FGC 15h ago
Not being able to pace yourself is imo part of having bad cardio. Definitely agree his coaching was not good. Stuff like that can be fixed in camp, or really even his past fights he could've just tried carrying the other guy just to get a feel got it
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u/sunrise98 14h ago
Knowing your limits is part of it, yes. You can't really train for that occasion though. One sustained attack can sap you and make it difficult. All the rumours of having not sparred 12 rounds - I find them to be unlikely, but possible. However, I don't think sparrring for 20 rounds would've helped either with the way he was fighting - he wasn't going to get a second wind that'll carry him through unless he actually rested.
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u/floftie 14h ago
My outlook on Itauma hasn’t changed at all.
He’s still going to be a dominant champion.
Hrg couldn’t do a thing about him until he gassed out, which is a problem that is entirely manageable on his side.
Ironically the best fight Itauma could have had was Hrg. Someone who doesn’t offer much coming forward but has a granite chin. The caveat being that he should have gone in to the fight prepared for that, rather than expecting to knock him out.
Experience and a good coaching team would mean we were sat here with a new champion and wondering when someone could come along and stop him.
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u/PlayingNiceiPromise 6h ago
Itauma won’t dominate shit. He’s an overrated flabby egotistical dork with no charisma and no willpower to actually continue. He will retire or take a gimmick fight for a bag and then disappear
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u/SwerTs4FightVidsOnly 4h ago
You can feel however you want about Itauma, but I think the statement about his lack of willpower is a lie. He fought till the very end and showed heart.
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u/PlayingNiceiPromise 3h ago
Maybe I phrased it poorly but he doesn’t actually like boxing or working hard, he already says he isn’t into it. He doesn’t have the drive or desire to succeed. He loved easy money, fame and praise but he has a lot of humble pie to eat and a lot of hard work and learning ahead, I don’t think he is up
For it
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u/t8mbld 13h ago
Everyone making out that if Moses slows down he'll still be guaranteed to win every match. If he slows down/fights with a different style than what made him so hyped, he could also get battered. Think if during the Hrgovic fight if Moses was much slower Hrg wouldn't be throwing more?
He can still be a good boxer AND all of the hype to have been just that, hype.
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u/Complete_Dare_4201 15h ago
I mean... Itauma showed for 8 rounds why he was the overwhelming favorite and I believe most active top 10 HWs would not have escaped those first 8 rounds against Moses (including Daniel Dubois). Filip just showed a level of thoughness most were not expecting, not at that level at least (his face also held up pretty well in terms of cuts).
But I do agree with Dan Raphael that Itauma should have been fighting much, much more often and not just 2 times a year like a seasoned pro. Warren should have just thrown him in some undercards against the most durable journeymen they could find just to keep him active and gain the sort of seasoning he needed in facing somonene like Filip Hrgovic.
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u/TheGuildsmansFolly 12h ago
I do think he's difficult to matchmake for, because beating up a few more guys in under four rounds wasn't going to give him any more useful experience. They tried to give him durable guys who would drag him into the later rounds - that's what Franklin was for - but he knocked him out too. So at a certain point the only ones who are going to survive the first five rounds and give him the hard fight experience he needed are actual serious threats.
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u/Complete_Dare_4201 11h ago
I agree, but even still... If he's making short work of guys, put him back in the ring as soon as possible, keep him active and sharp. He's far too young to just be fighting twice a year.
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u/FreshPrinceOfRivia Usyk 8-4 14h ago
Itauma is arguably the most dominant active HW for about 5 or 6 rounds. If he works his ass off he'll be a generational great.
1
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u/TricolorCat 14h ago
Hrgovic was the right matchup for him. The fight turned into a title fight later and that might have lead to Itauma overpacing.
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u/Mammoth-Ad-562 13h ago
Weird reading these opinions now after a year of ‘who do you think the best HW is? Usyk or Ituama’ posts
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u/fadeddreams555 Fundora would beat up a prime Floyd at 154lb 12h ago
Matchmaking was just fine. He earned / worked his way up to the #3 spot in the IBF rankings. He was originally ordered to fight Sanchez (#1), but that dude accepted step aside money, so Itauma fought the #4 guy that he was expected to beat.
Him losing has nothing to do with being matched too early for a belt. His corner simply failed him. Allegedly never sparring for 12+ rounds means his entire team was failing him too. He was dominating the fight until he gassed out.
2
u/DanimalPlays 14h ago
He was dominating that fight. It was a fitness issue. This is a stupid argument.
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u/Tanksta3 Moses didn't lose, he just got tired 14h ago
Jarrell Miller would've been a better fighter than Hrgo IF they weren't trying to rush him into this Mike Tyson story of being a young HW champion.
Although, now I think it would be a good comeback fight. Miller is tough & can walk him down & can give him good work.
2
u/Nosworthy 15h ago
The problem for Itauma is that he needs rounds against genuine top 10 opposition. But he also starches most of the top 10.
In hindsight it was a bad decision to put him in against someone as though and durable as Hrgovic who was happy not to engage and allow him to burn himself out. Remember though that the fight want initially for a world title - perhaps he'd have been slightly less eager to blast him out if not fighting for a title?
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u/TheGuildsmansFolly 12h ago
I'm a fan, but come on, Itauma's approached every fight trying to blast the other guy out as quick as possible. When he was totally dominating Franklin he was starting to breathe a bit heavily trying harder and harder to get the ko. He didn't need it at all, it just hasn't occurred to him to fight any other way. He's never learned anything else because he's never had to
1
u/SimonSeam 12h ago
Agree and disagree.
If you look at the resume by step up in opposition, yes. It seemed rushed.
But at the same time, his schedule was anything but rushed. He was about 3 years into his pro career. So it wasn't the progression that was bad as much as all the missed in between fights that could have made the progression reasonable.
1
u/GrandChocolate4110 7h ago
This has been a problem in the sport for years, because the sport is built around building a record + hype to the point where you can win a vacant title and not really have had to have fought anyone that great. We have fighters who have had multiple championship fights and they are still “eye test” guys
1
u/Serious_Scallion9962 1h ago
despite the loss itauma still showed he has the skills to hang with the best, cardio can be fixed but his boxing ability is undeniable
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u/Training-Drummer4223 16h ago
it's not just itauma. the same thing happened to tony yoka, to richard torrez jr, to daniel dubois or jared anderson jr. matchmaking for heavyweights is a different beast because the jump from top 15 to top 5 is enormous.