It would be too simplistic – and unfair – to say Hrgovic won the fight purely through mind games, but the 34-year-old had succeeded in making the build-up uncomfortable.
Hrgovic spent fight week repeatedly attacking Itauma’s age, dismissing him as “just a kid”. As the week wore on, Itauma looked increasingly irritated and eventually lost his composure at the weigh-in, shoving Hrgovic before the Croatian responded with a slap.
Itauma prides himself on being unusually cerebral for a heavyweight. He reads psychology and self-help books, talks openly about sharpening his mind and appears to spend far more time analysing himself than most 21-year-olds.
But there is always a danger that deep thinking becomes overthinking, something Anthony Joshua has been accused of repeatedly during the latter stages of his career.
Whether the pre-fight barbs played any part or not, Itauma’s gameplan once the bell rang was clear; he wanted to end the night early.
“Someone said to me he doesn’t feel like he’d win a world title unless he knocks him out. I didn’t like that,” promoter Frank Warren said afterwards.
That mindset was understandable because it had served Itauma extraordinarily well until now. But perhaps Hrgovic had been underestimated by almost everybody – Itauma, the media, pundits, former fighters and bookmakers who installed the Briton as a heavy favourite.
Hrgovic is an Olympic bronze medallist who went 12 hard rounds with the giant Zhilei Zhang, while against Daniel Dubois – the only defeat on his record – he was leading on two of the three scorecards before the fight was stopped because of cuts.
‘El Animal’ knew what it felt like to be hurt, to become tired and to remain in a fight when things were going badly. Itauma did not.
