Carl Frampton says Moses Itauma will be ‘a better fighter’ after Filip Hrgovic loss… so long as he avoids rematch

CARL FRAMPTON has backed Moses Itauma to be a better fighter than ever despite defeat to Filip Hrgovic – so long as he swerves a rematch. Itauma was streets ahead against Hrgovic before he ran out of energy in round nine – stopped on his feet due to pure exhaustion. Moses Itauma was beaten by Filip Hrgovic in round nine after running out of gas Credit: PA Carl Frampton has backed Itauma to come back better Credit: sunsport The 21-year-old prodigy now has to build himself back after losing his undefeated record and cloak of invincibility in one night. But British greats like David Haye and Amir Khan had to overcome similar disasters in the infancy of their professional careers. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! And Frampton, 39, told SunSport: “You can compare this to almost like David Haye when he lost to Carl Thompson. “No one expected Moses to lose tonight except Filip Hrgovic and his team. “No one expected David Haye to lose to Carl Thompson – an old Carl Thompson as well – and he did, but he came back better and he was a better fighter for it. “And I think this is going to be one of them ones. It’ll feel like the end of the world right now for Moses, but give it a few weeks, maybe a month or so, and he’ll be okay and he’ll come again.” Haye never got revenge over Thompson and instead built back his career to the point of becoming cruiserweight and heavyweight world champ. But Frank Warren has revealed Itauma is already on the phone calling for a rematch with Hrgovic, 34. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS The Home of Boxing in 2026 There's a massive year of boxing ahead! It has already been a blockbuster year inside the ring, and it is not going to stop anytime soon! All eyes are focused on when Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will get in the ring, with the pair due to finally settle their decade-long rivalry. Katie Taylor calls time on her illustrious career this weekend at Croke Park as she faces Flora Pili, with the chance to become a three-time undisputed champion. Conor Benn fights for his first world title one week later against Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas – it is The Destroyer’s second bout for Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing. October’s action doesn’t stop either, with Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois facing off in the rematch of their thrilling fight in May, while Canelo Alvarez returns against Christian Mbili on Halloween. Here’s all the big fights coming up… September Sat 5 – Katie Taylor vs Flora Pili – DAZN Sat 12 – Conor Benn vs Ryan Garcia – DAZN Sep 12 – Jai Opetaia vs Noel Mikaelian Sat 19 – Isaac Cruz vs Nestor Bravo – DAZN October Sat 3 – Ben Whittaker vs Conor Wallace – DAZN Sat 17 – Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2 – DAZN Sat 31 – Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbili – DAZN *If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue. Frampton – who had an iconic two-bout series with Leo Santa Cruz – pleaded with Itauma to think twice about getting back in there with Hrgovic. He said: “Oh, no. Stay away from that. He’s a kid. “Look, I’m hearing – and I don’t know how true this is, there’s a lot of rumors – I’m hearing Frank didn’t want this fight, wanted another few fights before he fought someone like Hrgovic. “These guys know what they’re doing. So, the last thing you want to do with Moses right now. “He’s only a kid. To put him back into a rematch with someone like Filip Hrgovic – that would be absolutely the wrong thing to do.” Itauma had only boxed a total of 31 rounds heading into the IBF title fight – never going past the sixth round. And footage has now circled of Itauma worryingly admitting to never sparring the full 12 round distance – with the inexperience going on to show. Frampton added: “What a fight to watch. I mean, the chin on Hrgovic, the bravery of Hrgovic, the bravery of Moses. “But it just almost looked like the tank just went and there was nothing left. Going from looking okay in the fight to being completely emptied. “So, these are just things you have to get over. It wasn’t until I done a 12-rounder on fight night that I knew I could actually do it. “I’ve done it in the gym, but until you do it on fight night, you don’t know. And I think that was the problem.” Comment now