Former World Champ George Groves Gives Moses Itauma a Harsh Reality Check

Earlier this year, Moses Itauama, 21, appeared to have everything at his disposal. The British fighter accumulated brutal knockout victories as a heavyweight prospect.

But Filip Hrgovic stunningly derailed Itauma's hype train. The veteran took Itauma deep into the fight and by the time the ninth round rolled around, Itauma looked spent and unable to conjure up a suitable defense. Instead, a stoppage in the round ended the prospect's night and his chances of winning the vacant IBF heavyweight championship.

Early in the fight, the 21-year-old looked crisp, blistering the Olympic medal winner with punches. However, when Itauma could not put Hrgovic away, his metaphorical gas tank emptied, and his lack of cardio became an immediate problem. The boxer exhaled deeply, struggling to regain his breath, which had long since escaped him.

This loss raises significant questions about various aspects of Itauma's performance. A former world champion believes that the 21-year-old was exposed in a troubling manner.

George Groves says Itauma's loss more than physical

In an interview with Sky Sports, George Groves, who won the WBA (Super) super middleweight title, believes that Itauama's loss contained more than just a physical defeat.

"It's not an easy task, but I hope that there isn't a lot of mental scarring there and they can go back and not try to reinvent. Maybe it will come with age, that endurance that he can be much more of a 12-round fighter than a three-round fighter. At the moment, he's a three-round fighter. That's the sad fact of it. He's not even a six-round fighter. I thought he was gassing a bit from the third round on."

COMEBACK COMPLETE 👑

The moment Filip Hrgovic stopped Moses Itauma to win heavyweight gold 💥 pic.twitter.com/6XJQ2pvK40
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) August 29, 2026

The film does show that Itauma managed to coast on athleticism from Rounds 4-6. While his crispness and output waned in the middle rounds, he could still outpace Hrgovic based on quickness. But somewhere in the middle rounds, he ran out of gas. As a result, he could not move out of the way, and Hrgovic proceeded to chop him down. Itauma became a stationary target with nothing left in his legs.

Itauma's next moves

As Groves stated, a complete overhaul of Itauma would not serve his best interests. In fact, changing too much of the young fighter's approach would confuse his identity in the ring. However, Groves does offer this thought.

"The toughest job in boxing is probably navigating Itauma's career because he's been so good, so fast, so early, so young."

Changing Itauma may merely mean altering his training methods. Instead of focusing on the first 12 minutes of ring action, the trainers could try to work on his cardio. It would be akin to converting a baseball reliever into a starting pitcher.

Now, Itauma will need to pace himself better and not try to empty out his punch reservoir too early. One loss may not define him, but how he emerges from it will most certainly.

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