SportBoxingOleksandr UsykMoses Itauma lost for the first time in his professional career on Saturday, and Oleksandr Usyk has sent a rather classy message to the young heavyweight13:11, 01 Sep 2026Oleksandr Usyk insists Moses Itauma's 'journey has only just begun' following the Brit's defeat to Filip Hrgovic.‌Itauma was winning every rounds of his heavyweight title fight with Hrgovic before gassing out and being stopped by the Croatian brawler in the ninth round. The 21-year-old was taken out of the ring on a stretcher and transported to hospital before being discharged to recover with his family.‌The Chatham Southpaw has been tipped for future success and has vowed to come back stronger than ever. One man who believes Itauma will conquer the blue-riband is Usyk. And the two-time undisputed heavyweight champion has shown his true colours by sending a rather classy message to the Brit following Saturday night's fight.‌In a post uploaded to X - formerly known as Twitter - he wrote: "The Itauma vs Hrgovic fight is another reminder of how unpredictable boxing can be. Anything can happen once you step into the ring. Congratulations, Filip on a great victory! Moses, this is not the end. Come back stronger and keep moving forward. Your journey has only just begun!"FOLLOW OUR FIGHTING FB PAGE! Latest boxing and MMA news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page‌On Sunday, Itauma broke his silence and promised to bounce back and learn from the defeat. "So yesterday wasn't my night. We attempted greatness, and we just fell short to the more experienced man. I want to say congratulations to Filip Hrgovic on his win, and although I never reached my desired outcome, I believe I gained experience that I'll take to my future fights," he said."I want to thank the fans in and outside the arena. You guys made it a little bit more special and a little bit more electrifying than I expected. It was a f***ing good fight, and I want to thank Queensberry and DAZN for putting this show on. So, God bless, take care, and I'll be back."Promoter Frank Warren believes the young heavyweight may need a tactical rethink if he is to reach the pinnacle of the sport. “It’s too early to be making those decisions, you want to talk to him first and he will have to want to do it, which I’m sure he will,” Queensberry Promotions boss Warren said.Article continues below“You find out the calibre of a guy. It’s all about the mindset and where they’re at. You should learn from something like this and I’m sure he will. That aura of invincibility, at the moment, is gone. People will look at that and maybe it will make it easier to make fights for him.“Mentally, he’s going to be completely down. We’re going to have to talk to him and lift him and see what he’s like. It’s going to take some time. He’s still one of the most unbelievable talents I’ve ever been involved with. We’ll stick with him. He needs a bit more ring craft and needs to stop thinking about knocking everyone out. Somebody was saying to me this evening (Saturday) that Moses won’t feel he’s won the world title properly unless he’s knocked him out and I didn’t like hearing that.”Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌Oleksandr Usyk