Filip Hrgović’s manager credits lighter weight for surviving Itauma’s assault and staging London comeback

Filip Hrgović entered his London fight at his lightest weight since 2019, and his manager Keith Connolly believes that decision helped him survive Moses Itauma’s fierce early attack.

Hrgović weighed 107.1 kilograms at the official weigh-in, around 5.5 kilograms less than before his fight with Dave Allen three months earlier. Connolly told The Ring that Hrgović would not have endured the punishment without being “6-7 kilograms lighter than usual.”

The manager credited trainer Abel Sanchez, who oversaw Hrgović’s entire camp, with preparing him for a fight built around endurance. The plan was to withstand Itauma’s speed and explosiveness early, then take advantage if the 21-year-old British boxer reached the late rounds with serious fatigue. Itauma had finished nearly all of his professional fights before the final rounds, according to the account.

Itauma controlled the opening stages. He looked faster, more accurate and more effective, and knocked Hrgović down in the second round. The Briton continued to collect rounds while Hrgović stayed with his plan, absorbed the punishment and waited for the balance to shift.

As the fight moved toward its conclusion, Itauma began to lose energy while Hrgović grew more dangerous. In the ninth round, the Croatian heavyweight seized the initiative and landed a series of heavy punches that forced the referee to stop the contest. Connolly said Itauma had been more convincing early than he expected, but maintained that Hrgović’s conditioning gave him enough strength to produce one of Croatian boxing’s biggest comebacks.

“

If Hrgović had not been 6-7 kilograms lighter than usual, he never would have been able to withstand all that punishment.