Moses Itauma was carried from the ring on a stretcher following an explosive heavyweight clash against Filip Hrgovic at The O2 on Saturday night
Moses Itauma is recovering at home after being taken to hospital as a precautionary measure following his IBF world heavyweight title bid heartbreak. Itauma’s bid to become world heavyweight champion ended in a ninth-round stoppage by new champion Filip Hrgovic.
And following the stoppage of the fight at The O2 Arena, Itauma was carried from the ring on a stretcher. Itauma was then taken to the hospital, but after being given the all-clear, he is now back home with his family.
“Moses has gone to the hospital for a check-up,” promoter Frank Warren said following the fight. “It’s precautionary that he’s gone to the hospital. That’s what we always do to make sure, because the most important thing is the boxer’s health.
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“He’s there and he’s in the best place. We’ll see what happens when I’ve got a report. We’ll obviously let everybody know.
“He’s done something to his leg as well and he was quite tired. It was a high-paced, fast fight for both the guys. It was just edge of your seat stuff all the way through.”
Itauma rained down blows on Hrgovic for the first seven rounds but the 34-year-old showed huge heart to come through the storm and become Croatia’s first heavyweight world champion.
Hrgovic must now face the IBF’s mandatory challenger Frank Sanchez, but Queensberry chief Warren could not guarantee Itauma would be back, saying: “I don’t know what he’s going to say. I’m sure he’s a fighting man.
“He showed that right to the end. At the end, that’s the type of fight it was – they were standing there just letting bombs go.
“I don’t even know how he feels mentally. 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 going to have a nice break. It’s not even the time to talk about it with him at the moment. It’s something we’re probably doing in two weeks or even a month’s time, see where we go with it.”