On August 29, 21-year-old Itauma shot out of the blocks and fought with his foot to the floor for seven rounds of his vacant IBF heavyweight title fight with the resolute Croatian.

Refusing to panic, the experienced Hrgovic stuck grimly to his task and did all he could to ensure that if Itauma’s gas tank ran dry, he would be ready to take advantage. When his moment arrived in the ninth round, Hrgovic seized his opportunity and forced a dramatic come-from-behind stoppage.

It is a topic on which Haye can speak with authority.

By September 2004 Haye had reeled off 10 consecutive stoppages but hadn’t boxed anybody good enough to force him to rely on the skills earning him silver at the 2001 world amateur championships. Neither had he met a man stubborn enough to stand up to his thudding power shots, before running into Carl Thompson.

The former WBO cruiserweight champion is among Britain's most resilient and exciting fighters of all-time but was 40 and at the end of a war-torn career when matched with Haye.

As expected, Haye landed everything in his arsenal over the first three rounds. Just as predictably, the brave Thompson absorbed everything and continued to look for a breakthrough. Haye began to run out of ideas in the fourth and by round five, Thompson took control before scoring a stunning upset finish.

Rather than writing the loss off as a fluke, the charismatic, confident Haye retreated back to the gym with his trainer Adam Booth. Together, they set about refining and improving his approach. He would later unify the cruiserweight division before stepping up to heavyweight, winning the WBA title.

Now, Itauma faces a similar rebuilding job.

“I had to accept the fact that doing it my way when I'm in there on my own, on the fly, isn't good enough at world level,” Haye told talkSPORT Boxing.

“Even that Carl Thompson was like 40 years old. He was way past his best so he was a shell of the man he once was but that shell was still enough to beat a young pup with no experience.

“Now he [Itauma] has got that experience. As long as he looks at it and understands. The first five rounds he was amazing but even in those first five rounds, did he need to throw as many shots as he did to win the rounds comfortably?”

Itauma began training under Ben Davison after leaving his previous trainer Al Smith in March 2024. Itauma credited the trainer for reigniting his love for the sport and established himself as the sport’s most exciting young fighter under Davison’s watch.

Davison has guided one of the most successful stables in British boxing over the past few years but is going through a poor run of results at heavyweight.

In September 2024 he was in the corner for Anthony Joshua’s knockout loss to Daniel Dubois. Itauma’s loss to Hrgovic was sandwiched in-between Fabio Wardley’s two devastating defeats by Dubois.

People inside and outside the boxing bubble have debated whether Itauma should seek a new trainer from the moment the referee stepped in to save him against Hrgovic. Haye insists Itauma’s issues are more likely to be solved by a long, hard look in the mirror than by chopping and changing his training team.

“When I lost to Carl Thompson, I didn't think I need a new coach. That was the last thing. It was like, 'coach said this, I did that. I got my ass kicked,'” he said.

“It's easy to throw the coach under the bus to get a good bit of PR. It's palming it off on someone else. No, you’ve got to take it all in, watch it, understand why you lost, and speak to your coach about what are we going to do to make sure this never ever happens again?”