Itauma promises to bounce back after losing to Hrgovic

British heavyweight Moses Itauma has promised to come back strong after his loss to Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic. He said the defeat has not shaken his confidence, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

Itauma was seen as the next big thing after British-Nigerian Anthony Joshua. He was ahead of Hrgovic for eight rounds in their world title fight in August. But he lost steam and was stopped in the ninth round. He had to be carried out of the ring on a stretcher.

The 21-year-old boxer mentioned that it took him a while to accept what 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.

He added, “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 signs that he was about to run out of energy. He explained, “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’.”