Moses Itauma v Filip Hrgovic scorecards make for brutal reading after shock defeat

The judges' scorecards from Saturday's Moses Itauma v Filip Hrgovic fight in London have revealed that the beaten fighter had been closing in on a win.

Itauma had a commanding lead on points going into the ninth round at the O2 Arena but the 21-year-old southpaw surrendered his grip on the vacant IBF heavyweight title when the fight was waved off by referee Howard Foster.

Recognised as one of the foremost young talents in British boxing, Slovakia-born Itauma went into the fight with an perfect professional record of 14 wins, 12 by knockout.

But the young fighter was found wanting in the ninth round after an aggressive but ultimately fruitless quest to secure a 13th knockout win at the end of the eighth.

Hrgovic took advantage and Foster called the fight in his favour with 33 seconds to go before the bell.

It was the Croatian's only hope of a win. According to the scorecards, Itauma had won all eight rounds to the tune of 80-71 in the eyes of two judges and seven (79-72) on the tallies of the third.

Itauma, who fought 'like an amateur' in the words of his opponent, suffered a leg injury and exhaustion during the fight and was carted off to hospital from the O2.

He was over-eager in what proved the penultimate round and paid a heavy price.

"The eighth round summed up both Itauma's extraordinary talent and his lack of experience," reported BBC Sport.

"He threw more punches than in any other round of the fight, pouring what remained of his energy into trying to remove a man who had already demonstrated that he was exceptionally difficult to remove.

"There are questions about the Chatham fighter's preparation, too. Itauma - who had never gone beyond six rounds professionally - admitted before the fight that he had never even sparred 12 rounds.

"His conditioning was clearly not where it needed to be for a championship fight and responsibility for that cannot rest solely with the fighter - it also falls on the experienced team entrusted with preparing him."

Itauma has been dominant in his career to date. His previous six wins were all in bouts that might have gone for 10 rounds but only Jermaine Franklin took him beyond the second.

The Brit stopped Franklin in the fifth round and saw off both Dillian Whyte and Demsey McKean in the first round. His two decision wins were both in matches that lasted six rounds more than three years ago, highlighting the importance of a focus on conditioning for lengthier outings as the big hitter climbs up the ranks.

Itauma has been the Commonwealth heavyweight champion for a year but is yet to defend his title after stopping Whyte in the first round in Riyadh last October.

On Saturday, he missed his first chance to join the sport's truly elite, leaving the much more experienced Hrgovic to seize the IBF heavyweight belt.

The 34-year-old, whose only professional defeat was against WBO champ Daniel Dubois two years ago, is a world heavyweight champion for the first time.