Moses Itauma has promised to return a better and more educated fighter following his startling ninth-round collapse against Filip Hrgovic on Saturday in London, England.
The 21-year-old, for eight rounds, lived up to the hype surrounding him and the odds that made him a big betting favorite inside the O2 Arena.
Hrgovic, 21-1 (16 KOs), would eventually claim the vacant IBF heavyweight title but not before standing up to repeated rapid-fire assaults from his talented foe.
In the end, however, Itauma’s substantial effort to win in spectacular fashion only drained his own reserves. After swinging and missing wildly in the ninth and visibly shattered, he fell backwards to the ropes. The referee stopped the fight with Itauma leading 80-71 on two cards and 79-72 on the third.
The sudden defeat, and nature of it, has led some to question the methods of his coach, Ben Davison. Before the fight, Itauma – while alluding to plans to KO Hrgovic – suggested he’d never been 12 rounds in sparring.
Hrgovic clearly got under the skin of Itauma, 14-1 (12 KOs). At the weigh-in, words were exchanged before Itauma shoved the 34-year-old Croatian from the stage.
The bad feeling seemed to fuel Itauma in the early going as he went for the stoppage. Against another opponent, he would surely have got it. But when it mattered most, he had nothing left.
His exhaustion was so severe, in fact, he was stretchered from the ring and taken to hospital. He was released on the night.
“It wasn’t my night,” Itauma explained in a social media address. “We attempted greatness and fell just short against the more experienced man.
“I want to say congratulations to Filip Hrgovic on his win and although I didn’t achieve my desired outcome, I believe I gained experience that I will take to my future fights.
“I want to thank the fans in and outside the arena. You guys made it a little bit more special and a little bit more electrifying. It was a good fight.
“And I want to thank Queensberry and DAZN for putting this show on.
“God bless, take care and I’ll be back.”
Leave a Reply