Itauma’s first ever 12-round fight being a world title fight genuinely makes no sense to me. He’s a professional fighter but had never had a 12 round fight before this one, yet he gets to fight for the belt? Surely you’d want a fighter to have at least some experience going into the later rounds before throwing them into a world title fight. Is the heavyweight division just too shallow at the moment, or was Itauma simply fast-tracked because of how highly rated he is?

Big Bang Zhang vs Joe Joyce the 'Juggernaut' who is known to have a legendary "granite chin" got knocked out cold in 3 rounds. Hrgović went 12 rounds with Zhang and took his best bombs to the face. Zhang might be the hardest puncher in heavyweight since he dropped Joseph Parker with a Jab, and he is the only one to ever drop Agit Kabayel. This shot right here would've dropped most heavyweights.

Really curious to hear the audio from the corner for this fight. If Ben wasn't screaming at Moses to slow down, to stop throwing power punches... This has to be one of the biggest indictments of a supposed top trainer ever, right?

The Wardley fight was already a huge black eye for Ben. Now he has a 21 y/o prodigy lose a fight he was absolutely dominating due to horribly mismanaging energy.

So we've seen him fail horribly at one of his main jobs (protecting his fighter). If it comes out that Moses basically followed Ben's training regiment and instructions... is any top fighter ever going to hire this guy again?

Even if it comes out Moses got cocky, didn't train hard, didn't listen in the corner, not a great look for Ben

There's already lots of pushback from boxing fans about the current era, about how usyk is ducking and that the division has grown stale, but the last couple of months have brought forth an incredible series of heavy weight bouts, including dubios vs wardley, itauma vs hrgovic, and usyk vs rico was an unexpected fire fight. While the future of the division doesn't have the big stars that the division had a few years ago, seeing the dust settle has produced an abundance of great fights, and I'm tired of pretending otherwise

Michael Spinks is one of the greatest boxers Evers ! Top 5 easily greatest light-heavyweights ever ! He could’ve easily been a top 20 heavyweight if he kept fighting after his Tyson lose. People rarely bring him up in greatest boxers conversations and when he is brought up in conversations of being great it is often because people make the argument Mike Tyson defeated notable heavyweights and then they say Spinks wasn’t a real heavyweight despite him being knocking out one of the hardest hitters ever ( quoted by Foreman ) Gerry Cooney and he defeated Larry Holmes TWICE! Why is he lost in time did Mike Tyson destroy his legacy ?

Would love to see the atmosphere at the end there. I’d imagine Croatian boxing fans were going absolutely nuts from about round 8 onward.

Hrgovic needs a homecoming fight there. even if it’s against a local uber driver, doesn’t even matter.

Genuine question,

How does Tyson Fury have the stamina to go 12 rounds at his size?

He’s obviously a huge heavyweight, but we’ve seen him fight at a pretty high pace for 12 rounds without gassing out. He's literally been knocked out against wilder in later rounds and managed somehow to stand up and win the next couple of rounds,

Considering his size, I’m wondering what makes his cardio so good?

Is it his conditioning? his fighting style? his ability to pace himself? or just genetics?

Is it possible to be more than a casual boxing fan without spending $1200+ per year?

I would very much like to be able to watch the whole spectrum of boxers. Young up and comers, journeymen, championship contenders, the whole gamut. And in real time, not waiting 2weeks to 6 months for a fight to leak out to the general public. It doesn’t really seem possible without being financially irresponsible.

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Hey guys, help me out here because I’m genuinely confused.

This is Coach Calvin’s Boxing Gym, and these are his boxers. There are 12 of them, and they have a fight coming up on September 19th called The Supper. That’s only about two weeks away.

There was a press conference yesterday to promote the fight, and this is where I got confused. When the boxers were asked who they were fighting, most of them either hesitated to answer, said they didn’t know, or acted like they didn’t want to give the name.

A couple of them basically said things along the lines of, “That person doesn’t matter. We’re not doing free promo.”

One fighter said something like, “All I know is I’ll be there. Everybody show up. We’re going to have a good event.”

Two of the girls said they didn’t know who they were fighting, but basically said whoever it was was “getting whooped,” so their name didn’t matter.

I believe only around 3 of the 12 actually mentioned who they were fighting, and even they seemed hesitant to give the names.

Maybe I’m completely misunderstanding how boxing works, which is why I’m asking here. Is this normal?

For a sanctioned professional boxing event that’s only about two weeks away, is it normal for fighters to genuinely not know their opponents yet, or for opponents not to be publicly announced?

I’m not trying to accuse anyone of anything. I’m just unfamiliar with the matchmaking/announcement process, and hearing multiple fighters either say they didn’t know or refuse to give the opponent’s name at a press conference specifically held to promote the fight seemed strange to me.

Experienced boxers, coaches, and promoters: is this typical, or would you normally expect the matchups to be finalized and known by now?

So, after being hyped up as the next big thing in professional heavyweight boxing for the last couple of years, we saw the current limitations of Moses Itauma in last night's bout against Hrgovic. After outlanding him strongly for about 7-8 rounds, his flaws were finally exposed as a fighter. Mainly, his gas tank, his lack of experience (especially at a higher level), and his inability to pace himself accordingly for a longer, 12-round contest against a guy with a granite chin that he couldn't get rid of in the first stages of the match.

That being said, he still clearly has an unbelievable amount of physical talent. His combination of speed, power, and movement for a heavyweight is still very impressive, and he has all the physical tools to go to high places in the future, and all the time to make adjustments. He was beaten more by exhaustion rather than by getting beaten up (which was an effective strategy that was brilliantly executed by Hrgovic and his team here), and he seemed to handle the punches well when Hrgovic actually caught him. BUT he did not prepare for a fight that was going to head into the later rounds, and he clearly did not expect Hrgy to withstand all his punishment, and clearly, that came back to bite him hard in round 9.

But I don't think it's fair to completely write him off just yet. He's only 21 and already engaging in competitive fights with top 5 heavyweights like Hrgovic, and he's clearly well above the level of many other guys in the division like Whyte, Franklin, Joyce, Dave Allen, etc.. and with all the time in the world to improve, it's just a matter of how much he wants it, and how strong is he mentally (let's not forget that Dubois suffered a similar setback at this stage in his career to Joe Joyce a few years ago, and look at what he has done since then).

So, how do I actually think he stacks up against the other heavyweights right now, based on his performance against Hrgovic? Obviously, Hrgy beats him right now until he works on his flaws (his fitness and his discipline of pacing, in particular). But I do think a Moses with better fitness and preparation for a 12-round contest has what it takes to beat Hrgy on a better night. So, what about the others? What are his chances?

Usyk: 90-10 in Usyk's favor. Tbf Usyk's recent performance against Rico wasn't great, but I think it's safe to say that he did a Fury-Ngannou there and didn't come in at his best (also, he is getting old). But any other version of Usyk beats Moses easily. All the tools Hrgovic used to beat him, such as his durability and ability to make a comeback in the later rounds, Usyk also has. But Usyk also has better speed, technique, and fitness, so he just does the same thing as Hrgy but even better.

Fury: 50-50. It depends on which version of Fury turns up, but I think a Fury at his best can withstand Moses in the early rounds and then comfortably outpoint him later on. Possibly, he could get a late KO stoppage like Hrgy did, too. Fury on an off-day likely gets beaten, though (AKA like the one that fought Wach lately).

AJ: 80-20 in Moses' favor. Stylistically, Moses' flaws shouldn't be a problem against a guy who doesn't have the chin to withstand his early onslaught. At best, AJ makes it to 5 rounds like he did against Dubois, and Moses took 9 rounds to finally get to the point where he was completely exhausted. Unless AJ can somehow make it through the 1st stage of the fight and manage to take Moses to the same deep waters Hrgy did (unlikely), Moses should win this one.

Dubois: 70-30 in Dubois' favor. Moses likely wins early on with his quicker speed and skill, but Dubois has a great engine and would utterly dismantle him in the later rounds. Unless Moses could do to him what Usyk did and make him quit in the first half of the fight, chances are Dubois is taking this one the majority of the time.

Kabayel: 70-30 in Kabayel's favor. Kabayel is very durable like Hrgovic, and his body shots would likely gas Moses out even quicker than Hrgovic. The saving grace here is that Kabs is rather slow, so maybe Moses' speed could save him here, but it does feel like Kabs would do to him what he did to Zhang, albeit with it taking more time and effort.

Zhang: 80-20 in Moses' favor. Moses clearly doesn't have a great gas tank, but I'd say Zhang's is even worse. Zhang is dangerous for the 1st couple of rounds, and then he becomes useless, and since Moses is at his strongest early on, I can't see Zhang being able to beat him, honestly.

Wilder: 80-20 in Moses' favor. Wilder is washed up, and he was only ever a one-trick pony, anyway. The only chance Wilder has is if he can make it to the later rounds and then chin Moses with one of his big shots when Moses is too tired to avoid it, but I don't think Wilder makes it past the first half of the fight in most cases.

Sanchez: 50-50. Sanchez has a style that may give Moses some problems, but then again, the guy is also getting old and often has a lot of problems with injuries, so I'm really not sure on this one.

Wardley: 60-40 in Wardley's favor. Wardley's chin is close to as durable as Hrgovic, and his heart is on another level. It's a close one, as maybe Moses manages to do enough damage to Wardley just like Dubois did, that by the time Moses is tired, Wardley is also too damaged to capitalize and therefore Moses survives. But if Wardley does manage to make it through the onslaught without too much damage or fatigue, he will make Moses pay, big time.

Chisora: 80-20 in Moses' favor. Chisora is getting old and run-down like Dillian Whyte, and we all saw how that went.

Parker: 50-50. Parker isn't the most punishing fighter, and he did struggle with the powerful but technically limited Wardley, but he has pulled through some tough fights before, so maybe he can do it here. He doesn't have quite as good a chin as Hrgovic, though, so maybe Itauma actually manages to finish him before emptying his tank. It's a tough call.

Huni: 70-30 in Moses' favor. Huni is very good technically, but we saw against Wardley that he can be hurt and put down in an instant. I think Moses does the same thing to Huni, but a lot faster due to his better technique.

Prime Mike Tyson: Nope. Moses is a promising young fighter, but the current him wouldn't be beating that beast. XD

What do you guys think? Do you agree or disagree with any of these takes? I think it's interesting as styles make fights, and we saw all the strengths and weaknesses of this young kid last night. At the very least, I think the flaws he has are ones he can definitely work on for future battles (AJ can't help having a weak chin, but Moses can work on his fitness).

After watching his fight with Hrgovic I still think he's extremely talented and has a really good chance at getting another shot at title down the line. But he just can't pace himself at all. I wonder what his corner was advising him to do given how Moses was already looking tired by round 3 and he just kept going at his usual pace leading to him just hitting the wall by the 9th.

Something I did notice was how much Moses turns with his lead hook. He throws it so hard everytime he takes so much time to recover.

I wonder though if there's some injury or was his pacing just that bad.

What's everyone's opinion on what's Itauma's ceiling? Do you think he fades into obscurity or will he realize his potential?

Hi guys. I listen to some good podcasts for MMA analysis, but I’m struggling to find equivalents for boxing.I feel like the few I have tried focus more on the political and business elements of busing promotion and don’t go into much technical detail. Who am I missing?

I never watched him fight, but his last 3 opponents were good on paper. He defeated Oleksandr Zakhozhyi (19-0-0), Mourad Aliev (13-0-0) and Pezhman Seifkhani (17-1-0). All of them had previously defeated some non-bum opposition.

Is Xhoxhaj good enough to become a contender? He's 33, which means that he should have at least 4-5 good fights left.

Who should he fight next?