Connect with us

Sports

Moses Itauma’s only focus is on beating Filip Hrgovic at O2 Arena

Published

on

Moses Itauma has shut down talk of future stadium fights and insisted his sole focus is on claiming the world heavyweight title with victory over Filip Hrgovic on August 29.

British heavyweight prospect Itauma (14-0, 12KOs) will fight for the vacant IBF crown in his 15th professional fight at O2 Arena and aim to remain on course to dominate the blue-riband division for the next decade.

Queensberry promoter Frank Warren last week described the 21-year-old as the “hottest young boxer” in the world and predicted a Wembley blockbuster showdown with Daniel Dubois in 2027 if Croatian power-puncher Hrgovic (20-1, 15KOs) can be navigated in London.

Yet, Itauma told British media on Friday: “I haven’t really thought about that to be honest.

“If I don’t get past Hrgovic, there ain’t going to be no stadium fights.”

Advertisement

The short and sharp nature of Itauma’s answer fits with his current image and resume, which contains 12 knockout wins and eight inside three minutes.

It is those numbers sprinkled in with devastating finishes, like the uppercut to end his last bout with Jermaine Franklin in Manchester, that has made Warren and plenty of other boxing experts anoint Itauma as the future of the sport.

The dream of being called out as world heavyweight champion first entered the consciousness of the Chatham southpaw at the age of 16 to 17 when Queensberry had already secured his signature.

Whilst Itauma is ready to deliver under the London lights, he has been candid enough to admit at an unease with his growing presence in the public eye.

Advertisement

“Maybe 16 or 17,” Itauma said. “(My aim) was becoming the youngest (world heavyweight champion) and it was all the money and fame that came after.

“Then when I started progressing through my career, I saw the negative side of it, I was kind of like, ‘I might not want this,’ but the way I am heading, like I said, I might not have a choice.

“I just try to be authentic when I am on the camera and then in my boxing, I guess they see I am putting on entertaining fights, so that might have a part to play in it.

Advertisement

“I don’t really know. I’m not braggadocious, I’m not swaggerdocious, I don’t do anything extraordinary outside of the ring.

“In my mind it might be because I come across like myself. I don’t try to be anyone else.

“I remember the Jermaine Franklin fight, yeah when everybody was going, ‘oh Moses Itauma,’ and I just want to sit there and appreciate it, but it’s hard because I’m in the ring fighting!

“You try to appreciate and take it in but at the same time you don’t want to be starstruck and get caught out.”

Advertisement

Hrgovic has talked down Itauma’s CV and stoked the fire before this world title fight, but received a warning from his opponent.

“Ah man, nobody comes to watch heavyweights and two guys go to points,” Itauma said, with a menacing smile.

“If you are watching the heavyweight division, you want to see some knockouts.”

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Sports

“Just two guys” – Khabib Nurmagomedov names one soccer and one boxing legend as his sporting heroes 

Published

on

Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the greatest MMA stars of all-time, and is a role model for many youngsters.

The Russian finished his career undefeated, but his values regarding family, religion and more have added another layer to his legacy.

Many current MMA athletes also look up to Nurmagomedov as a role model, but ‘The Eagle’ also had a couple of sporting heroes while growing up.

The former UFC star was asked about several topics by popular Instagram account Khann-Journey. While there was some mix-up regarding Nurmagomedov’s current situation as he didn’t understand a question, there was no doubting who the retired star looked up to.

Advertisement

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

Nurmagomedov claimed that the two sporting heroes for him were Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo Nazario and boxing legend Muhammad Ali:

Advertisement

“If you talk about athletes, I can say Brazilian Ronaldo, Muhammad Ali. That’s just two guys.”

Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s message below:

Muhammad Ali needs no introduction. Many consider him as the greatest sportsperson ever, forget boxer, and his beliefs led him to clash with the US Government over the Vietnam War. He was stripped of his titles and was deemed a draft evader. He didn’t fight for four years, which was part of his prime, as he fought the decision by the US by appealing to the Supreme Court.

Ali is a former heavyweight champion and held several records, and also fought in some of the biggest boxing matches in the history of the sport.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, is one of the greatest soccer stars ever. The Brazilian played as a striker and represented several top clubs such as Barcelona, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Real Madrid.

Advertisement

Ronaldo had incredible football and physicality, but his prime was cut short with several knee injuries. While the 49-year-old won several individual awards, a FIFA World Cup and many league titles, it could have been a lot more had he not been unlucky with injuries.


Former UFC fighter highlights Khabib Nurmagomedov’s humility with inspirational story

Jake Shields once shared an incredible insight about Khabib Nurmagomedov. While Shields’ MMA days are done, he still shares stories and updates from that world, and had one about ‘The Eagle’ in 2024.

Shields highlighted how Nurmagomedov was more than willing to do work that rookies would do, and shared that the Dagestani was on the cusp of UFC glory:

“When I would train with Kahabib in San Jose he would often be the guy mopping the mats [this is usually done by rookies]. This was right before he won the title but I’m pretty sure I also saw him moping in Vegas after he was already a champion. This sets a great example to his team that he’s not above them.”