Warren backs Itauma to come back stronger after attacks by Eubank Jr and Harrison
Promoter Frank Warren has hit back at criticism of Moses Itauma's preparations and is confident he will go on to become world heavyweight champion following Saturday's shock defeat to Filip Hrgovic.
The previously undefeated Itauma had seemingly been dominating the scorecards and on course to clinch the IBF belt at the age of just 21 at the weekend, only to drastically run out of steam as he was stopped in the ninth round by his Croatian counterpart.
It prompted doubts about head coach Ben Davison from certain members of the boxing community, with former Olympic champion Audley Harrison and Chris Eubank Jr among those questioning Itauma's tactics.
"I'm not commenting on any of that until I sit down with the team," Promoter Warren told Sky Sports. "They've got their opinions - they want to look at their own careers; we're worried about what Moses [Itauma] has done.
"Let's get it right, you know, Audley Harrison, it just didn't happen for him. Chris Eubank is 36 years of age, and he's never won a world title - in his last fight he was all over the place.
"They've got their opinions, they're entitled to them, but they all come out with their knives out afterwards, but before the fight there wasn't anybody who tipped [Hrgovic] to win other than his team."
Despite the outcome, Warren pointed to the fight as proof of both Itauma's heart and his chin after a battle of attrition against Hrgovic.
Warren maintained Itauma possesses the talent to come back stronger in his pursuit of a world title, referencing early defeats in the career of heavyweight great Wladimir Klitschko.
"The area is not to get him fit - just look at the pace of the fight and the amount of punches he's thrown; it's managing it, and it's his fight management," Warren continued. "You haven't got to go full throttle every round, and every punch you throw him hasn't got to knock somebody over.
"If there's a wall and you've got a sledgehammer, you keep hitting it and hitting it. It doesn't always go, and sometimes you've got to chip away at the foundations with a small hammer, and it'll collapse.
"That's what he's got to learn and to use his talents and his skills - he will do that, I'm absolutely sure of it."
