Moses Itauma is champing at the bit to exact his revenge on Filip Hrgovic.
The Chatham southpaw was stopped in the ninth round on Saturday night at London's O2 Arena as he was denied the chance to become the sport's second-youngest heavyweight world champion.
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Itauma was way ahead on all three judges' scorecards after eight rounds, but his gas tank failed him in the ninth as Hrgovic poured on the pressure to secure a remarkable comeback win.
The 21-year-old left the ring on a stretcher and was rushed to hospital before being released hours later.
After returning home, Itauma got on the phone to his long-time promoter Warren to call for an immediate rematch.
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Moses Itauma wants Filip Hrgovic sequel
"He's saying to me, 'Can we get the rematch on?' which is a natural reaction," Warren told talkSPORT Breakfast on Monday morning.
"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.
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"'The landscape is what it is; you are a big part of it. You have shown you belong at that level'.
"Provided he learns the lessons from the fight, I think he can go on and do great things."
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While Itauma is keen to dive straight back in at the deep end, such is the fighter's way, Warren would prefer for his client to take a step down in opposition for his next couple of fights.
Where does Moses Itauma go from here?
"I would like to see him in at least one, maybe two fights and see where we go before we go [back to that level].
"We've got to sit down with the whole team and discuss this.
"His manager is my son Francis, and all of us will get together to look at it.
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"I've been around the game long enough; I knew on the night what was going to happen.
"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.
"I said, 'He's going to punch himself out'. I could see what was going to happen...
"He had his foot stuck down on overdrive, and that was it.
"I believe 98 per cent of the heavyweight fighters would have got stopped on Saturday by the punches he was throwing.
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"And I said to him only recently, 'There will come a time when you come against someone who can take a shot, and you'll have to get to plan B'.
"That's what happened on the night, and it's happened to so many fighters over the years, especially big-punching fighters.
"But with him, he put so much into it that he didn't have the strength to box.
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"If he could have boxed the last few rounds, maybe he would have got through that because he was miles ahead on points.
"The only way Filip could have won was to knock him over, which is what he did at the end of the day."
The Chatham southpaw was stopped in the ninth round on Saturday night at London's O2 Arena as he was denied the chance to become the sport's second-youngest heavyweight world champion.
Advertisement
Itauma was way ahead on all three judges' scorecards after eight rounds, but his gas tank failed him in the ninth as Hrgovic poured on the pressure to secure a remarkable comeback win.
The 21-year-old left the ring on a stretcher and was rushed to hospital before being released hours later.
After returning home, Itauma got on the phone to his long-time promoter Warren to call for an immediate rematch.
Advertisement
Moses Itauma wants Filip Hrgovic sequel
"He's saying to me, 'Can we get the rematch on?' which is a natural reaction," Warren told talkSPORT Breakfast on Monday morning.
"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.
Advertisement
"'The landscape is what it is; you are a big part of it. You have shown you belong at that level'.
"Provided he learns the lessons from the fight, I think he can go on and do great things."
Advertisement
While Itauma is keen to dive straight back in at the deep end, such is the fighter's way, Warren would prefer for his client to take a step down in opposition for his next couple of fights.
Where does Moses Itauma go from here?
"I would like to see him in at least one, maybe two fights and see where we go before we go [back to that level].
"We've got to sit down with the whole team and discuss this.
"His manager is my son Francis, and all of us will get together to look at it.
Advertisement
"I've been around the game long enough; I knew on the night what was going to happen.
"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.
"I said, 'He's going to punch himself out'. I could see what was going to happen...
"He had his foot stuck down on overdrive, and that was it.
"I believe 98 per cent of the heavyweight fighters would have got stopped on Saturday by the punches he was throwing.
Advertisement
"And I said to him only recently, 'There will come a time when you come against someone who can take a shot, and you'll have to get to plan B'.
"That's what happened on the night, and it's happened to so many fighters over the years, especially big-punching fighters.
"But with him, he put so much into it that he didn't have the strength to box.
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"If he could have boxed the last few rounds, maybe he would have got through that because he was miles ahead on points.
"The only way Filip could have won was to knock him over, which is what he did at the end of the day."
Related Coverage
- SPORTItauma vs Hrgovic: British heavyweight given a hard lesson on the realities of world-level boxing â bbc.co.uk
- British boxer Moses Itauma suffers shock defeat to Filip Hrgovic in heavyweight world title fight â Sky News
- Moses Itauma unlikely to receive Filip Hrgovic rematch after shock heavyweight stoppage defeat â Sky SportsâAmazingâ Itauma urged not to give up by Hrgovic after stunning stoppage
- Sky SportsâAmazingâ Itauma urged not to give up by Hrgovic after stunning stoppage â The Guardian
