Hrgovic survived a knockdown and a mostly one-sided onslaught to score a dramatic, come-from-behind, ninth-round stoppage against heavyweight phenom Moses Itauma on August 29.

Although Hrgovic (21-1, 16 KOs) must next face mandatory challenger Frank Sanchez, the Croatian sensation is willing to run it back in a sequel against Itauma to showcase an improved version of himself.

"My first thought was that I can do better," Hrgovic told The Stomping Ground. "I wasn't boxing so well. I can throw more, I can be faster. I want a rematch with this guy.

"It was a big win and a big achievement, but I feel I can do better. I should throw more and be faster. He was countering me. He was really fast, and he put me in a little bit of insecurity, but I should have thrown more and been more aggressive. If a rematch happens, I'll smash him."

After eight rounds, Hrgovic was down 71-80, 71-80 and 72-79 on the scorecards before a fatigued Itauma crashed in the ninth with 33 seconds remaining. CompuBox credited Itauma with landing 163 of 416 of his shots, and Hrgovic with 90 of his 346 punches.

"I was never hurt in that fight," Hrgovic said. "He connected with some good shots, and I didn't see his punches coming. He was fast, but I was never hurt. I was always aware of what was going on. It wasn't like he was the biggest puncher I boxed with, but he was the most skillful and fastest fighter I faced. I felt other fighters' power more, like David Adelaye. He hit me with the strongest punch I ever received in my career. I felt it more against Daniel Dubois and Zhilei Zhang, too."

Hrgovic emphasized the lack of experience for the 21-year-old Itauma (14-1, 12 KOs), who came in with just 31 rounds of pro experience under his belt, ultimately led to his demise.

"He never boxed a 12-round fight," Hrgovic said. "He was knocking out everyone. He needs more experience, and I think he will learn to pace himself and win rounds smartly. If he recovers mentally to get his confidence back, I think no one will ever beat him because he's just so fast and so good. He just needed this experience to know that he can't knock out everyone, and that he needs to pace himself and be ready for a 12-round fight.

"It's not conditioning, or that he didn't train. I think he was in amazing shape. I think I killed him mentally because he connected with all of the best shots. He hit me with everything, but I just continued to keep coming forward. I refused to lose that night. I was a hard man to beat, and I think it killed him mentally.

"He's fast like a middleweight. He's so talented, and I think he has a much harder style to box than Agit Kabayel or Dubois."

For now, "El Animal" Hrgovic is enjoying the most significant win of his nine-year career as he waits for what's next.

"Life is nice, and it's good to be a world champion," Hrgovic said.

"I went through hell and a lot of sacrifice and pain, especially in my professional career. It was not only difficult in the hardest sport in the world, but also the politics. I don't come from a big boxing country. I didn't have big TV networks, promoters, and teams backing me. It was really hard for me to go through all that. But I never gave up. I never stopped believing in myself. I always believed I was going to become a world champion, and I finally did it. It's amazing.

"I became champion in the best way possible. Itauma was like the new Mike Tyson, the new Muhammad Ali. He was the biggest prospect in the world, the biggest talent, and everyone made him the next big thing in boxing. Everyone thought he was going to knock me out in a few rounds. No one believed I could do that. I went through all odds."