Tyson Fury, the former heavyweight champion, stated that fellow British boxer Moses Itauma's recent world title fight against Filip Hrgovic was premature and could have cost the young contender upwards of $100 million.
Itauma, 21, was stopped in the ninth round by Hrgovic, 34, on Saturday at The O2 arena. The fight was for a vacant IBF heavyweight title. Itauma had been ahead on the scorecards before Hrgovic mounted a comeback to secure the victory.
Fury, who is preparing for a November bout against Anthony Joshua, expressed his view that Itauma's first world title opportunity arrived too early in his career. "I said it was too early – and it could cost him £100m," Fury told The Telegraph. He drew a parallel to his own career, noting that facing Wladimir Klitschko at 21, as he did, would have resulted in a knockout loss for him.
"Whatever Moses is at 21, in five years' time, 10 years' time, he'll be 10 times better, 10 times stronger, more experienced," Fury said of Itauma. "He's an amazing boxer, talented."
Despite acknowledging Itauma's considerable talent, Fury believes the fighter was not ready to face a seasoned opponent like Hrgovic, who has a wealth of experience from numerous fights. "As we saw for the first six, seven rounds, Moses outclassed him," Fury observed. "But when it came to the stretch, the championship distance, the young man wasn't ready to go down the straight with a veteran who trained hard, looked in fantastic shape, dedicated himself, and is in the prime of his life at 34."
Fury elaborated on the potential financial and psychological impact of such a defeat, suggesting it could hinder Itauma's path to becoming a major athletic star. He contrasted Itauma's career trajectory with his own, which involved winning multiple regional and international titles before competing for world championships. "If you go from not going past four rounds to jumping into a 12-round world-title fight without winning anything along the way... if you look at my career, I won English, Irish, British, Commonwealth, European, every international belt there was along the way and every world-title belt, too: Lineal, Ring Magazine, everything you can think of... I did it the traditional route."
Itauma, who entered the fight undefeated, had been winning on points before Hrgovic's late surge turned the tide.
Chris Eubank Jr., another British boxer, commented on Itauma's performance via X, stating, "Not sure what happened tonight. Moses was fighting well & then gassed out it seems… at his young age this should simply not be happening. Time to rethink his training camp moving forward I think. Congratulations to Filip Hrgovic becoming the new heavyweight champ."