Frank Warren insists the coming months will be the true test of Moses Itauma if he chooses to rebuild in the wake of a ninth-round stoppage by Filip Hrgovic at The O2.

Itauma left hospital overnight after undergoing precautionary medical checks in the wake of his gruelling challenge for the vacant IBF world title, which ended with the 21-year-old being carried out of the ring on a stretcher.

He looked sensational while using his hand speed and movement to dominate by far the toughest assignment of his 15-fight career but began to trade in the eighth and ninth rounds, eventually leading to him staggering around the ring in exhaustion.

It was the first time he had boxed beyond the sixth round and in interviews last week it was revealed he had not sparred for a full 12 rounds – the scheduled length of the bout – in training.

For all his bravery he had been outsmarted by the canny and teak-tough Hrgovic, who brought his experience to bear by dragging the contest into deep waters having survived the initial onslaught.

Warren was unwilling to guarantee that Itauma will be back after the hype that had built around Britain’s most exciting prospect deflated spectacularly and believes he needs a tactical rethink if he is to reach the top.

“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.

“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.”

Hrgovic’s only defeat came when challenging another Briton in Daniel Dubois for the IBF world title in 2024 and as Croatia’s first heavyweight world champion, he wants his first defence to be in his homeland.

The 2016 Olympic bronze medal winner’s granite chin and indomitable spirit made the greatest victory of his career possible and while he had scoffed at comparisons between Itauma and Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali, he is still tipping his rookie rival for great things.

“Moses is an amazing talent and I believe he will be a world champion for sure,” Hrgovic said. “But he needs more time. My advice is to not give up.

“I’ve never been in the ring with someone like him, but he’s inexperienced. He was winning all the rounds but went toe-to-toe with me in round nine. It was a stupid move by him, it was very stupid. It was inexperience.

“He needs to pace himself and adjust to professional boxing. You can’t box like an amateur, it’s a 12-round fight so you need to pace yourself. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”