THE HEAVYWEIGHT SHOW GOES ON

IT WAS A spectacular and ultimately dramatic night at The o2 on Saturday, which concluded with a first Croatian being crowned heavyweight champion of the world.

It wasn’t the page in history we wanted to see written, to be perfectly honest, but Filip Hrgovic is with us at Queensberry and our congratulations go out to him. He has opened up some big doors to some massive fights.

Moses Itauma too will find himself back in the world title picture before too long. What happened in that ring on Saturday will, some time soon, simply be considered as experience in the bank.

Moses showed off much of his natural talent, his incredible speed and also his huge heart for the battle. I firmly believe that a big majority of the leading heavyweights would have succumbed to his sustained early onslaught.

It really was an irresistible force up against an immovable object.

Moses wasn’t outfought or outsmarted in the ring and he actually took very little punishment. He was just outlasted by a man with enormous staying power.

Of course, we all know now what he should have done and the value he placed on winning a world title via knockout only points to his youth.

Massive, evenly matched, championship fights are negotiated in instalments. Moses started fast, but then Plan B needed to come into place, where energy is conserved by holding shape and activating the jab as the weapon of choice.

Moses has doubtless been told all this numerous times but, until you live it, these things don’t always sink in.

It is all about experience and Moses is now proven, ability-wise, at the highest level. The rest he can work on and come back even stronger.

On a different note, The o2 was a special place to be on Saturday and, as an event, it was an unforgettable spectacle. Thank you to all the fans who made this happen and who proved there is nothing like a major British boxing occasion.

We’ve still got bundles of heavyweight business to attend to, not least the October 17 rematch between Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley, which will be the third world heavyweight title fight staged within these shores this year.

We will have news on WBC champion Agit Kabayel soon and we will get to work on Filip’s next move.