There has been some debate about the instructions given by Ben Davison to Moses Itauma during his defeat to Filip Hrgovic, but new footage now clears up exactly what he was instructing the fighter to do.
In his first ever world title fight, Itauma started well, landing plenty of sharp, accurate, hurtful shots on Hrgovic, who is 15 years his senior and not known for moving particularly fast.
What the Croatian did show, though, was a granite chin and plenty of will to keep going despite losing every round. Eventually, Itauma had emptied his tank while Hrgovic was still standing and throwing back, and by the ninth round Itauma had nothing left, stumbled back to the ropes and the referee was forced to step in and call a halt to proceedings.
In a clip of the corner shared by DAZN, trainer Ben Davison can be heard advising Itauma to slow down and take a more tactical approach to the fight.
“You don’t need to try and finish him, mate. The body will stop him. Don’t chase the head. Compose yourself, relax. Control with your lead had, drop it into the body. That’s all you need. Keep him guessing with that body work. That will push him around the ring, OK. Don’t get carried away, composure, composure.”
"You don't need to finish him!" 👀 Listen in to Moses Itauma's corner talk before the final round 🔊#MosesHrgovic 🤳 pic.twitter.com/ksHG2jLo8U
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 1, 2026
It seems as though Itauma didn’t heed his trainer’s advice and ended up losing a fight many had tipped him to win. He has already said he will be back stronger and will pursue a rematch with Hrgovic, though Hrgovic must next face his mandatory challenger, Cuban Frank Sanchez, who took a step-aside fee to allow this fight to happen.
