Moses Itauma appears to be a revelation in the heavyweight division and continues to impress with every appearance.
He returns to the ring on August 29 against Filip Hrgovic.
During the launch press conference for the pair’s fight, Hrgovic questioned Itauma’s credentials and compared the two’s respective struggles in the boxing world.
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The Croatian looks, on paper, to be the toughest test and biggest step up of the 21-year-old’s career to date.
As he takes such a major step, Itauma looks to prove many of the claims he and his team have made about just how high his ceiling could be.
He spoke to The Ring Magazine and dismissed ‘El Animal’s’ comments.
“I don’t get treated the way I am for no reason. There’s obviously something about me that Queensberry push.
“And it’s not about what I have done, but what I could do.
“I feel like with every fight I have, I’m proving to them that I am capable of what they think I’m capable of.”
Itauma has an impressive record of 14 wins, with 12 of them coming via stoppage.
He has already faced some recognisable names in the heavyweight division who have caused many of the top heavyweights problems, with some of his first notable opponents including Mariusz Wach, Dempsey McKean and Mike Balogun.
“Have I been treated like a golden child? I wouldn’t say so, because it’s not for no reason.
“I’ve knocked everyone out in the first or second round.
“When you say golden child, it makes it seem like it’s a privilege. I wouldn’t say that I’ve been privileged in boxing.”
In his last two outings, Itauma has picked up the biggest victories of his career.
The first came against former world title challenger Dillian Whyte, whom he stopped in the first round.
He most recently headlined in Manchester, stopping Jermaine Franklin in the fifth round after dropping him in the third.
“Jermaine Franklin has never, ever, ever touched the canvas and had just come off a victory over Ivan Dychko, and I’ve splattered him in five rounds.
“Did they put Dillian Whyte on a plate for me? No. I had to do a whole training camp.”
Itauma continued to dismiss Hrgovic’s comments and opened up on some of the challenges he has to face as a fighter, many of which he assumed the Croatian would relate to.
“He’s a fighter himself, so it’s just disappointing that he’s saying this because going through a camp, spending the money you’ve got to spend, getting the people you’ve got to spend, getting the arseholes you’ve got to deal with on a day-to-day basis, and then not only that, all the stuff that’s actually inside the boxing ring, the things that you have to take care of, and then he’s saying this.
“It just shows his character, doesn’t it?”
