Moses Itauma asks for immediate Filip Hrgovic rematch, but Frank Warren urges patience

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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.Hrgovic came from behind to stop Itauma in a remarkable turn of eventsGettyItauma 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.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.“‘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.”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.Itauma wants an immediate rematch, but Warren has urged him to exercise patienceGetty“His manager is my son Francis, and all of us will get together to look at it.“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.Itauma will likely step down in class for his next two fightsGetty“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.“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.”While Itauma looks to rebuild his career, Hrgovic is now obligated to box IBF mandatory Frank Sanchez, who stepped aside to let the pair compete for the vacant red and gold strap.Watch Boxing on DAZN*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenueSign up to DAZN to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate from just £24.99/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.Alternatively, DAZN Standard is just £15.99/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.Click here to sign up.