- George Groves says Moses Itauma is currently a three-round fighter and must become far more efficient with his work before he goes near world level again
- Groves backs the decision to make the Filip Hrgovic fight and rejects the idea it was a step too far — the problem was pacing, not matchmaking
- On Conor Benn, Groves says 154lbs is the sensible move and a third Chris Eubank Jr fight is the likely one, but not the right one
Somebody Finally Said It
Right then. For weeks now the conversation about Moses Itauma has been conducted in code. "He needs to mature." "He was rushed." "It was a step too far." All of it comfortable, all of it vague, none of it useful to the kid. Then George Groves opened his mouth this weekend and said the actual thing.
"At the moment he's a three-round fighter. That's the sad fact of it. He's not even a six-round fighter. I thought he was gassing a bit from the third round on."
Brutal. Also correct. And here is the part everyone is going to miss while they argue about how brutal it was: that is the best news Itauma has had since the ninth round against Filip Hrgovic.
Why A Gas Tank Is The Good Problem
Make no mistake — there are two ways a young heavyweight loses a world title fight. He can be found out, or he can run out. Being found out means the hand speed is not real, the power does not carry, the chin is not there. That is terminal. Running out of engine at 21 years old in your first twelve-rounder under the lights is a conditioning issue, and conditioning issues get fixed in every gym in the country every single week.
Groves put his finger on exactly why it happens. "He's that sort of athlete, extremely fast twitch and when he punches he puts maximum effort into it. But that depletes the engine. At times he's probably never really had to work on it." That is it in one. Itauma has spent his whole career finishing people before the question got asked. Hrgovic was the first man durable enough to ask it, and the answer came back badly.
The Matchmaking Was Not The Mistake
This is where Groves is at his sharpest, and where he goes against the grain. "I'm not buying into 'the Hrgovic fight was a step too far'. It was what it was. It was the right fight to make."
He is right and it needs saying more often. Hrgovic is big, he is experienced, he is tough, and he is not quick. Stylistically he was made for Itauma. The only success Hrgovic had came when Itauma abandoned boxing because he was exhausted. That is not a fighter being outclassed, that is a fighter beating himself. Groves's line about it being "the toughest job in boxing" to navigate Itauma's career is the kindest and most honest thing anyone has said about his team.
Benn Is The Harder Puzzle
Conor Benn is a different problem entirely, and a worse one. Two rounds with Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas, floored heavily, stopped. He had gone up to 160lbs twice for Chris Eubank Jr, come back down to welterweight for Garcia, and got found out at a weight he had drained himself to make.
Groves's read: "I'm not sure where he lies at true world class. If he's not going to stay at 147lbs, who can he beat at 154lbs and who can he beat at 160lbs?" He lands on 154 as the least-bad answer, and he is not wrong. Staying at welterweight means Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson, which is not a rebuild, that is a retirement plan.
The Eubank Trilogy Nobody Needs
"Hopefully it's not all roads lead to Eubank because I think that's done," Groves said. "That rivalry is done. I've got a feeling that's what it will be."
He has got a feeling because it is obvious. The money is there, the audience is there, and boxing has never once turned down a third fight it could sell. But two fights settled it. A third settles nothing except an invoice.
Where This Actually Lands
Here is my call. Itauma wins a version of the world heavyweight title before he turns 25, and the Hrgovic night ends up being the most valuable evening of his career — because he now knows something about himself that no amount of gym work could have told him. Groves said it perfectly: "He's been there now and that's a credit to him. Now you've got to use that." One year of proper twelve-round conditioning work and a couple of durable, unspectacular opponents, and the levels come back.
Benn I am far less sure about. He fights Eubank a third time, it does big numbers, and he is no closer to being a world champion than he was in 2022. Groves said Benn "definitely won't walk away from the table when there's still food there." That is the most damning sentence in the whole interview, and it has nothing to do with Benn's ability. Class fighters get rebuilt. Attractions just get rebooked.