Moses Itauma wants another shot at Filip Hrgovic, but Frank Warren says he must reestablish himself first. The promoter is targeting a top-10 heavyweight for Itauma’s comeback, although the opponent’s style will reveal far more than a ranking number about how effectively that fight prepares him for revenge.

Warren hopes to announce Itauma’s return next week. Hrgovic also has mandatory business to complete against Frank Sanchez, leaving Itauma with a rebuilding job while the title picture plays out.

“Well, that’s what he’d like. He asked for that immediately, and it’d be a big event. There’s no doubt about it,” Warren told BoxNation regarding an Itauma-Hrgovic rematch. “Sold out last time. I’m sure if we put it on again, it was so exciting a fight, it would sell out again. But first of all, he’s got to reestablish himself, and Filip’s got to get rid of his mandatory against Sanchez.”

Asked what level of opponent he wanted for Itauma’s return, Warren answered: “Top 10.”

That sets a high bar on paper, yet it reveals little about the specific technical hurdles Itauma will need to clear. A top-10 ranking covers vastly different tactical challenges. Pairing him with someone like Bakhodir Jalolov would force Itauma to solve height, reach, and distance management against a towering southpaw who dictates range behind a long jab. That offers a valuable puzzle, but it represents a different examination from the physical pressure that broke him down against Hrgovic.

A veteran like Joseph Parker represents the opposite stylistic end. Parker possesses the durability to absorb clean contact, the veteran craft to work on the inside, and the sustained output to test whether Itauma can defend while moving. Backing up in straight lines leaves a fighter vulnerable to being marched into the ropes. An opponent with Parker’s engine would compel Itauma to pivot off the centerline, escape off the back foot, and reset ring position rather than settling into a simple linear retreat.

A useful return bout must also address what happens at the end of his combinations. Against an opponent who fires back through incoming punches, Itauma cannot afford to admire his work with his chin exposed or his guard down. A fighter who punches between exchanges will compel him to roll, tuck his chin, or slip out of range the moment his offense concludes.

Pacing remains just as central to his development. Itauma built his reputation on early knockouts, but burning through his reserves trying to blast out a durable contender carries obvious hazards. A test against someone capable of taking solid contact would force Itauma to establish his jab, vary his punch selection, and bank rounds without exhausting himself in search of a single finish.

Warren does not need to throw him into another firefight to achieve those ends. Another loss would derail the rematch entirely. The trick is finding an opponent who makes Itauma solve the specific stylistic puzzles Hrgovic presented while still offering a clear route to a confidence-building win.

Sanchez could alter that landscape before Itauma gets his second chance. Warren noted that Sanchez previously stepped aside to permit the initial bout and now holds mandatory status. Should Sanchez take the belt, avenging the loss to Hrgovic and pursuing the world title will point in different directions.

Queensberry would then have to weigh whether a grudge match carries enough commercial appeal without the hardware on the line. For Itauma, the immediate priority remains narrower: overcome an opponent who asks enough difficult questions to make a second meeting with Hrgovic truly winnable.

Putting Itauma right back in with Hrgovic after a single confidence builder is a classic promotional trap, and history shows that rush rarely ends well for a young fighter.

At 21, Itauma suffered the exact kind of loss that leaves scar tissue. Being carried out on a stretcher after emptying his entire gas tank through eight rounds reveals a deficit you cannot patch up in one training camp. Hrgovic did not just beat him on points; he broke him physically and mentally by weaponizing his granite chin, size, and steady, chopping output.

Hrgovic’s pre-fight psychological read proved spot on: he openly predicted that Itauma had never faced real adversity, had never felt what happens when his best shots fail to stop a man, and would drown in deep water. Itauma swept early rounds, but by round eight, he had completely redlined trying to force a finish.

Once Hrgovic survived the storm, Itauma had zero tactical fallback. Going back into the ring with a 6’6″ puncher who now knows he can absorb everything Itauma throws and outlast him is handing Hrgovic the psychological blueprint on a silver platter.

One tune-up does not solve that kind of problem. A single soft touch or showcase fight lets a fighter look explosive again, but it teaches him nothing about pacing in rounds nine through twelve, managing energy against someone who refuses to go down, or handling heavy incoming shots when fatigued.

If Warren matches him with a hand-picked opponent who folds inside four rounds, Itauma steps right back into a Hrgovic rematch with the same structural flaws that got him stopped in August.

Itauma needs two or three genuine developmental bouts against durable, grinding heavyweights who make him work every minute of ten or twelve rounds without handing him an early exit. He has plenty of time on his side. Rushing him into an immediate rematch to salvage a narrative risks cutting a potentially elite career short before it even gets off the ground.