Filip Hrgovic tore up the script and crushed Moses Itauma’s world-title ambitions as the British fighter appeared to punch himself out in a dramatic heavyweight clash in London.
The 21-year-old Itauma dominated long stretches of the bout and even registered a second-round knockdown, but his ferocious pace eventually took its toll and he faded down the stretch.
Hrgovic absorbed everything coming his way and turned up the heat in the ninth round. With Itauma barely upright, legs wobbling and body swaying before he collapsed onto his corner stool, his corner had seen enough and threw in the towel.
Itauma, who required medical treatment before being taken out of the arena on a stretcher, had entered the ring as the overwhelming favourite after dismantling his first 14 professional opponents and being tipped as the future face of the heavyweight division.
With the vacant IBF heavyweight championship up for grabs, a win would have made him the second-youngest world champion in the history of the division.
Instead, his lack of experience became increasingly apparent as his Croatian opponent, an Olympic bronze medallist whose only prior professional loss had come against Daniel Dubois, withstood every assault and engineered a remarkable comeback victory.