Frank Warren says the Moses Itauma comeback will happen “very early next year”.
I understand the thinking. I even agree with most of it.
After Itauma suffered the first defeat of his career against Filip Hrgovic, there clearly needs to be a proper assessment of what went wrong. Warren has said there need to be “serious changes”, and considering the manner in which the fight unravelled, that seems entirely reasonable.
What I am less convinced about is the need to wait until 2027 before Itauma boxes again.
Because rebuilding a 21-year-old heavyweight and keeping him out of the ring for months are not necessarily the same thing.
Moses Itauma Does Need Rebuilding
Let’s get one thing clear from the beginning: I am not suggesting Itauma should be rushed back into another world-title fight.
Quite the opposite.
His defeat against Hrgovic demonstrated exactly why the obsession with rushing him towards heavyweight history needed to end.
Itauma was excellent for much of the fight. He dropped Hrgovic in the second round, controlled the contest with his speed and combinations and looked capable of producing the performance that so many expected.
Then everything changed.
Itauma exhausted himself. Hrgovic was still there. Suddenly, the young heavyweight who had spent most of his professional career blowing opponents away was being asked questions he had never previously needed to answer.
By the ninth round, he had nothing left.
The fight was stopped, Itauma received medical attention and left the ring on a stretcher.
That is not something you simply brush aside and carry on from.
There are lessons to learn about pacing, preparation and managing a 12-round heavyweight fight. Warren is right that changes need to be made.
As I argued after the defeat, losing that unbeaten record at only 21 could ultimately make Itauma a better heavyweight:
But there is another part of the rebuild that I think deserves consideration.
Does the Moses Itauma Comeback Need to Wait Until 2027?
Assuming Itauma is medically cleared, properly recovered and there are no lingering concerns from the Hrgovic fight, I would be tempted to get him back into the ring before Christmas.
Not against another world-level heavyweight.
Not against somebody who could drag him into another brutal 12-round fight.
And certainly not because he needs to prove the Hrgovic defeat was some kind of fluke.
I would give him a confidence-builder.
Find somebody durable enough to take Itauma a few rounds. Somebody capable of landing a few decent shots of their own without representing another enormous step in level.
Four, six or perhaps eight rounds depending on the opponent and how Itauma has recovered.
Then let him box.
There would be no shame whatsoever in that.
In fact, I think it could be exactly what he needs.
Sometimes a Fighter Just Needs to Win Again
We spend so much time analysing boxing technically that it can be easy to forget what happens between a fighter’s ears.
Think about what Itauma has experienced.
Before Hrgovic, defeat was essentially an alien concept to him. He hadn’t lost as a professional. According to the reporting around the fight, he hadn’t lost as an amateur either.
He had spent his young career winning.
More importantly, he had spent much of his professional career making winning look easy.
Then came Hrgovic.
Itauma didn’t lose a close decision where he could convince himself that three judges simply preferred the other man’s work.
He didn’t get caught cold by one freak punch.
He was winning, ran out of energy and found himself physically unable to keep Hrgovic away.
He was stopped and taken from the ring on a stretcher.
For somebody who had previously bulldozed his way through professional boxing, that is one hell of a first experience of defeat.
We don’t know what effect that has had on him psychologically.
That is why I wouldn’t necessarily want his next experience of walking towards a boxing ring to come after several months spent analysing everything that went wrong.
Sometimes a fighter might simply need to discover that he can still do it.
Let Him Take a Punch
This is one of the biggest reasons I would want the Moses Itauma comeback to happen before the end of 2026.
Give him somebody who can hit him back.
Not somebody who is expected to beat him, but equally not somebody who is going to collapse the first time Itauma lands a left hand.
I would actually want Itauma to take a couple of decent punches.
Not because he needs another war. Absolutely not.
Because there is potentially something valuable in discovering that Hrgovic hasn’t suddenly changed him.
Imagine that first fight back.
Itauma goes through the nerves of fight week again. He has his hands wrapped. He waits in the dressing room. He makes the ring walk.
Then the bell goes.
He lands a few punches.
His opponent lands one back.
Itauma takes it.
Nothing happens.
He settles down, boxes properly and eventually gets the win.
That might teach us absolutely nothing about whether he is ready to become a world heavyweight champion.
But it might teach Itauma something much more important at this particular moment.
One horrible night hasn’t fundamentally changed who he is.
Don’t Confuse a Confidence-Builder With the Rebuild
There is an important distinction here.
I wouldn’t consider this hypothetical fight the beginning of Itauma’s climb back towards a world title.
That can start in 2027.
After the confidence-builder, send him away and make the serious changes Warren is talking about.
Work on his pacing.
Work on conserving energy.
Work on fighting when somebody survives his best punches.
Work on what happens in rounds seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven and twelve.
The Hrgovic defeat exposed questions that cannot be answered by knocking over an overmatched opponent in December.
But that wouldn’t be the purpose of the fight.
The purpose would simply be getting Itauma back onto the horse.
Boxing has become so obsessed with rankings, belts and matchmaking that sometimes every contest has to be presented as another step towards something.
This one wouldn’t need to be.
Let a 21-year-old boxer win a boxing match again.
Then worry about everything else.
The Medical Question Comes First
There is, of course, one enormous caveat to everything I am suggesting.
Itauma should not fight until the medical professionals responsible for his health are completely satisfied that he has recovered.
That is non-negotiable.
He required medical attention after the Hrgovic defeat and was taken from the ring on a stretcher. No promotional schedule, television date or desire to rebuild confidence is more important than making sure a fighter is healthy enough to compete.
If the medical advice is that Itauma needs the remainder of 2026 away from competitive boxing, then there isn’t even a debate.
Wait.
But if he is medically cleared, feels physically right and is already back training, then I don’t automatically see the benefit of keeping him out of the ring simply because 2027 looks neater on a rebuilding schedule.
Itauma Has Plenty of Time
Perhaps the strangest part of the entire Itauma story is that boxing spent so long behaving as though he didn’t have time.
Everything became about breaking records.
Could he become world heavyweight champion younger than Mike Tyson?
Was he ready for the elite?
How quickly could he get there?
Hrgovic provided the answer that mattered.
There was no need to rush.
Itauma is 21 years old. His heavyweight career could conceivably stretch well into the next decade.
The target now shouldn’t be making him a world champion as quickly as possible.
It should be making him as complete a heavyweight as possible.
That requires patience.
But patience doesn’t have to mean inactivity.
Let Moses Itauma Finish 2026 With a Win
I agree with Frank Warren that changes are required.
I agree that Itauma needs rebuilding.
I agree that another major heavyweight fight immediately would be completely unnecessary.
Where I differ is the idea that the Moses Itauma comeback necessarily needs to wait until early 2027.
Assuming he is medically cleared, give him a sensible confidence-builder before Christmas.
Let somebody take him a few rounds.
Let somebody hit him back.
Let Itauma experience the ring walk again, manage the nerves again and have his hand raised again.
Then send him away and begin the serious work.
Because after spending his entire career learning how to win, Itauma has just received his first brutal lesson in how it feels to lose.
Maybe the next lesson doesn’t need to be complicated.
Maybe he simply needs to remember what winning feels like.
What Do You Think?
Would you get Moses Itauma back into the ring before the end of 2026 for a carefully selected confidence-builder, or is Frank Warren right to keep him out until early next year?
Share your thoughts and join the conversation.
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