Moses Itauma Says Critics Don’t Want Him Tested They Just Want To See Him Get Harm
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Moses Itauma believes the requires him to be “tested” earlier than difficult for a world title are being misunderstood.
The unbeaten heavyweight prospect has stopped 13 of his 14 opponents and can face the hardest task of his profession when he meets Filip Hrgovic on August 29 at London’s O2 Arena. While many observers imagine the 21-year-old nonetheless must reply questions on his sturdiness, Itauma insists that isn’t what critics are actually in search of.
Instead, he believes many merely need to see him harm.
“The one factor that I essentially don’t agree with is persons are saying, ‘Oh, they want to see me tested,’” Itauma told IFL TV. “When they say tested, they want to just see me get hurt. That’s what they imply by examined.
“They want to see this whole, ‘Can you take a punch? Test your chin.’ But that’s not the meaning of tested. They just want to see me get hurt. I’m going to try my best not to, but obviously in boxing it’s probably inevitable. It’s just how you deal with that situation.”
Itauma argued that being examined must be measured by a fighter’s skill to unravel issues contained in the ring quite than by how a lot punishment they’ll take up. He pointed to his victory over Jermaine Franklin earlier this 12 months, explaining that he needed to alter his strategy after making an attempt too laborious for an early stoppage.
“Getting the rounds. You want to put on a bit of a show before you close it out,” Itauma mentioned. “In the Jermaine Franklin combat, I attempted to knock him out to show some extent, then I believed, ‘I might have started too fast.’ I modified the techniques, slowed it down a bit, after which received the knockout.
“I proved to my coaches that I’m able to change the tactics mid-fight.”
The Hrgovic bout ought to present Itauma with one other alternative to reply these questions. The Croatian is a former Olympic bronze medalist whose solely skilled beat got here towards Daniel Dubois in an IBF heavyweight title combat, making him essentially the most completed opponent Itauma has confronted.
A victory over Hrgovic would strengthen Itauma’s case for a shot at one of many heavyweight titles that grew to become accessible after Oleksandr Usyk vacated a number of belts, whereas additionally giving him the largest triumph of his quickly growing profession.
Tom Galm is a boxing journalist who has coated the worldwide combat panorama since 2014, specializing in heavyweight evaluation, trade traits, and fighter psychology.
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Boxing News 24 » Moses Itauma » Moses Itauma Says Critics Don’t Want Him Tested They Just Want To See Him Get HurtLast Updated on 2026/07/08 at 3:10 AM
