Sanchez On Hrgovic's Itauma Knockout Strategy

Abel Sanchez believed Filip Hrgovic would eventually break Moses Itauma once the Croatian's pressure took its toll.

The veteran trainer told Bad Left Hook that the heavyweight title fight unfolded largely as expected, with Itauma's hand speed causing early problems before his lack of elite experience surfaced in the championship rounds. Hrgovic stopped the previously unbeaten British prospect in the later going to claim the belt.

Sanchez Saw Itauma's Fatigue Coming

Sanchez said he was never seriously worried about Hrgovic despite Itauma's sharp work early. The 22-year-old carried 14 knockouts in 14 fights but Sanchez felt most of those opponents did not belong at his level. "Moses isn't the puncher that his earlier 14 fights signify," he said, per Bad Left Hook. "I was more concerned with him getting cuts from those good shots than him getting hurt."

The corner started pushing Hrgovic to press harder around the sixth or seventh round. "I said to him 'okay, you know we're not going to win a decision here so let's start pressing him a little bit more, landing a couple more shots," Sanchez recalled. "That's when I saw Moses' legs start to do a little dance and so that's when I thought this was the time to press him."

Sanchez credited Itauma's amateur background for his fast start but said the approach cost him late. "He started off too quick. That's the amateur," the trainer said. "He's immature in his style of approaching an important fight like this." Hrgovic is expected to make his first title defense later this year.

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• Bad Left Hook — ‘I knew my guy was going to make him succumb’: Abel Sanchez reacts to Filip Hrgovic’s stunning upset win over Moses Itauma