British heavyweight Moses Itauma has vowed to return and conquer the division after his stoppage defeat to Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic, insisting the loss has not shaken his belief in himself, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Itauma had been tipped as the successor to fellow British-Nigerian Anthony Joshua. He dominated Hrgovic for eight rounds of their world title fight in August before running out of steam and being stopped in round nine. He was taken from the ring on a stretcher.
The 21-year-old said it took him a long time to accept what had happened.
“For a long time, I couldn’t accept it had happened. I was winning the fight so comfortably, and then all of a sudden my body just started shutting itself down. But even though I didn’t get the decision I wanted, I was proud of my performance. For the knowledge I had, for the talent I had, and for the experience I had, I put on a good show,” he said.
“I’ll be back. The identity of being a boxer is still deeply rooted in me, so just because I lost doesn’t mean that’s going to change. That was the third round I’ve ever lost in my boxing career; it just happened to be for the heavyweight championship of the world at 21 years of age. I’m not tripping over it. I attempted greatness, and I fell short.”
Itauma said he had no warning that his energy was about to desert him, saying, “Skill-wise, he didn’t surprise me, but he’s very durable. I’ve always been able to do things that other people couldn’t do. Jermaine Franklin’s never looked like he’s ever been in any trouble, but I knocked him out. Against Hrgovic, I was an arm’s length away from so much greatness, and maybe that was the experience that I needed to have.”
“It was all the way till a minute before the fight stopped. I didn’t have a worry, and it was only a couple of minutes into round nine that I started moving in slow motion, and he was in fast motion. It was like I just couldn’t do anything. Obviously the exhaustion must have kicked in, but at no point in that fight was I like, ‘Oh, I’m messing up’.”
The 34-year-old Hrgovic became Croatia’s first heavyweight world champion with the win. He is expected to return in January in a homecoming fight in Croatia. Frank Sanchez, the IBF mandatory challenger, took a step-aside fee to let Hrgovic and Itauma fight for the vacant belt and is now set for his shot early next year.