Fury gives Itauma tips after loss to Hrgovic

Tyson Fury has told Moses Itauma to take his time to rebuild his boxing career after losing to Filip Hrgovic. He believes Itauma was pushed too fast into his first IBF world heavyweight title fight before he was ready.

Itauma was stopped in the ninth round at the O2 Arena in London on August 29. He was ahead on all three judges' scorecards but got tired and lost to the more experienced Hrgovic.

Before this fight, Itauma had a perfect record of 14-0. But he had never gone past the fifth round in any of his previous matches.

While training in Miami, Fury spoke to journalist Gareth A. Davies. He mentioned that he had warned the people around Itauma that the fight came too soon.

"So from my experience, I said to Frank Warren, I said to everybody who would listen, too soon," Fury said.

Fury added that this setback could hurt Itauma both financially and in his growth as a boxer. He compared Itauma's situation to his own gradual path through local and regional titles before fighting for a world title.

"If you look at my career, I won English, Irish, British, Commonwealth, European. I did it the traditional route. And it’s done like that for a reason," he said.

"I was 27 years old when I fought Wladimir Klitschko; I was a 10-1 underdog, but I was ready. If I’d have fought him at 21, I’d have got knocked out too."

After the fight, Itauma went to the hospital as a precaution but was released a few hours later. He has since called his promoter, Warren, to ask for an immediate rematch with Hrgovic. However, Warren advised him to take it easy.

"He’s saying to me, ‘Can we get the rematch on?’, which is a natural reaction," Warren told talkSPORT Breakfast.

"But I told him, ‘You have got to switch off from boxing, go and chill out and spend some time with your family and come back, recharge your batteries and then we get to work again.’"

Warren prefers that Itauma fights one or two less-known opponents before going for another world title shot. He noted that he saw Itauma tiring as early as the seventh round.

"I was sat next to his brother, and after the seventh he looked like he was puffing a bit and then in the eighth round he came out with a big round," Warren said.

"I said, ‘He’s going to punch himself out.’"

On August 30, Itauma shared a video on his Instagram. He talked about his loss, saying he is still motivated despite not winning the title.

"So Saturday was not my night. We attempted greatness, and we just fell short to the more experienced man," he said.

"I want to say congratulations to Filip Hrgovic on his win, and although I never reached my desired outcome, I believe I gained experience that I will take to my future fights."

Warren also mentioned that Itauma picked up a leg injury during the match. He believes Itauma needs to improve his skills in the ring but still sees him as one of the most talented heavyweights. Warren is confident Itauma will become a world champion in the future.