BREAKING Moses Itauma speaks out after being stretchered off from ring after Filip Hrgovic struggle
Heavyweight boxer Moses Itauma lost his world title fight to Filip Hrgovic and was taken to hospital immediately after the fight after being taken out of the ring on a stretcher
Moses Itauma fell to the first defeat of his career(Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Moses Itauma has vowed to return to the top after losing to Filip Hrgovic on Saturday night. The 21-year-old was required to be taken out of the ring on a stretcher after his corner threw in the towel.
Itauma took charge of the bout in the early stages, but his Croatian opponent was able to withstand some heavy shots, and the Brit started to tire. Hrgovic took advantage of his opponent beginning to fade to put on the pressure and earned a stoppage.
It was the first time Itauma had boxed beyond the sixth round, and the young prospect revealed ahead of the fight that he had not sparred for a full 12 rounds in training.
Moses Itauma was carried from the ring on a stretcher
Itauma required a trip to hospital following the fight, but has since been discharged and spoken out following the first loss of his career. The fighter appeared positive despite the negative result.
He said: “So yesterday wasn’t my night. We attempted greatness, and we just fell short to the more experienced man. I want to say congratulations to Filip Hrgovic on his win, and although I never reached my desired outcome, I believe I gained experience that I’ll 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 than I expected. It was a f***ing good fight, and I want to thank Queensberry and DAZN for putting this show on. So, God bless, take care, and I’ll be back.”
Filip Hrgovic celebrates after stopping Moses Itauma(Image: (Steven Paston/PA Wire))
Itauma’s promoter, Frank Warren, earlier called for the fighter to learn from the experience. Warren maintains that Itauma remains one of the most ‘unbelievable talents’ he has worked with.
“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,” 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.”
