Moses Itauma preparations questioned after defeat to Filip Hrgovic but heavyweight star is backed to become world champion

Itauma was the overwhelming favourite heading into the bout but having dominated the opening eight rounds dramatically ran out of gas as he was stopped in the ninth.

Delicious Orie admits he was surprised by Itauma's pre-fight admission that he had not before sparred 12 rounds.

"It was experience. If I was getting a ring and knowing I've got 12 rounds ahead of me, I'm doing 15 rounds. For me, not doing 12 rounds going into a 12-round fight is crazy," he told Sky Sports.

"I guess it's each to their own. Moses boxed so perfectly but it was gradual rather than sudden. It goes back to experience. Hrgovic won that night because of it.

"He blew a gasket. This reminded me of new boxers in a new era taking strength and conditioning so seriously. You've got to find out about yourself before you get into the ring. You cannot learn on the job when it comes to professional boxing.

"I think he should have beaten Hrgovic. I wasn't in his training camps, but we've all heard it. He didn't spar enough; it's as simple as that. Just because you can lift weights or run fast does not mean you can sustain a 12-round fight. It's a completely different beast."

Like Itauma, lightweight contender Sam Noakes hails from Kent and has world title ambitions.

He agreed with Orie that inexperience contributed to Itauma's first career defeat, with the 21-year-old having to be taken to hospital following the fight.

"I think it was more Itauma beating himself. With all the success he was having, I think he might have just gone a little too fast out of the blocks. He wasn't out of his depth at all. It was more that he got tired and obviously Hrgovic capitalised on it," said Noakes.

"If he'd done a 12-rounder before maybe it might have helped. It's all well and good in hindsight but he was blasting out serious level opponents. That was the next step for him. He just came up short in a world title fight at 21. That's boxing unfortunately."

Itauma was bidding to become the second youngest man behind Mike Tyson to become world heavyweight champion.

However, having stopped all his opponents inside six rounds before facing Hrgovic, some have questioned whether the rising prospect was rushed into world title contention.

Orie disagrees with that notion and believes his promoter Frank Warren is the perfect man to help rebuild his career.

"I don't think he was being rushed. I think that was a good step up with Hrgovic. I do think there was a lot of hype. I don't think it would have had a massive impact on the fight. Itauma doesn't strike me as someone who loves all that hype. He's just a normal guy from Kent," he stated.

"Frank will more than anybody else know what the best thing is to do. I think his mindset is the question here. In his mind, his world's fallen apart. What he does in the next one or two years will be the deciding factor in my opinion for the rest of his boxing career."

Despite the setback, both Orie and Noakes are confident Itauma will recover and become world heavyweight champion in the future.

"One thing Itauma does have is the greatest asset known to man: time. 21 years old, he has a lot of time in front of him and depending on his mindset, this is just the beginning. This is part of becoming a world champion," Orie said.

"We've seen it time and time again with the likes of David Haye and [Wladimir] Klitschko losing in their early to mid-20s. It's the standard process.

"People just think it's smooth sailing, you turn professional, you beat Mike Tyson's record, you become world champion and retire into the sunset. Boxing doesn't work like that unfortunately and we've seen it here."

Meanwhile, Noakes added: "The experience everyone was saying he lacked, he has now gained. When he comes back, he'll be even better. As a fighter, the loss is terrible. It's like the end of the world.

"My advice to him would be just get back in the mix as quick as you can and back onto that world title chase. I have no doubt the ending will still be the same; he'll still be undisputed heavyweight champion."