MOSES ITAUMA suffered a truly stunning upset defeat to Filip Hrgovic in his first crack at a world title.

But he was CRUISING to a points victory before being gripped by fatigue in the eighth round of the last night.

Filip Hrgovic hitting Moses Itauma with a punch during a boxing match.Moses Itauma suffered a stunning ninth-round TKO loss to Filip Hrgovic on Saturday night Credit: REUTERS Moses Itauma landing a punch on Filip Hrgovic during their IBF World Heavyweight Title boxing match.But he was winning every round of the fight before being overcome by fatigue in the eighth Credit: REUTERS

And Croatian clubber Hrgovic jumped at the opportunity to take out the breathless Brit in the ninth stanza, putting it on him immediately after the restart.

Itauma, who was out on his feet and needed the ropes to stand up, fought valiantly, but the contest.

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coach Ben Davison threw in the towel after the stoppage, but should’ve done so earlier to save his man from taking more unnecessary punishment.

The stoppage saw Hrgovic get his hands on a world title at the second time of asking.

And he had to walk through hellfire to get it.

Itauma was winning every round before the stoppage, and the punch stats prove it.

He landed 19 of the 53 punches he threw in the first round and 24 of 41 in the second.

He was less accurate in round three, landing 11 of 36, but picked it back up in the fourth by being successful with 18 of 37 thrown.

Moses Itauma lands a punch on Filip Hrgovic's face during their IBF World Heavyweight Title fight.The slick southpaw was piecing up Filip Hrgovic, but the durable Croat walked through his shots Credit: REUTERS Illustration of a boxing punch statistics chart comparing Itauma and Hrgovic over nine rounds, showing punches thrown, landed, and percentage landed for each fighter.

He landed 15 of 39 in the fifth stanza and 22 of 54 in the sixth.

The seventh was his least accurate round as he landed only 11 of 39 punches.

Twenty-six of the 65 punches he threw in the fatiguing eighth, his busiest round, found their mark.

And despite being nearly completely breathless in the ninth, he managed to land 17 of 52 shots before the contest was waved off.

An exhausted Itauma had to be following the first professional loss of his career before being taken to the hospital.

After finally realising his world title dreams, a delighted Hrgovic said: “I was losing every round, I was getting outboxed, but somehow I found the energy and the punch to change it all.

Filip Hrgovic celebrates after winning the IBF World Heavyweight Title.Moses Itauma crumpled in the corner as referee Howard Foster waved off the fight Credit: REUTERS Filip Hrgovic poses with his IBF World Heavyweight title belt.‘The Croatian claimed the IBF heavyweight strap at the second time of asking Credit: REUTERS

“I was in the best shape of my life. I ask him now, is a chin important? A chin is important.

“He is an amazing fighter, he gave me the chance to fight for the world title and he will be back in the future.

“He is the best fighter I have been in with but he needs more experience, he gassed out.

“I knew I had the pace in my favour. He gassed out but he is one of a kind.

“I knew from the first round that he would gas out and then I would push and that’s what I did.

“My wife is my biggest support, my angel, my guardian, I thank her for everything.”