On August 29, at the O2 Arena in London, Filip Hrgovic inflicted a shock defeat on heavyweight rising star Moses Itaumato become the new IBF heavyweight champion. Fans, fighters, and boxing coaches have had their say on what went wrong for the Brit, and Ryan Garcia is the latest to have his say when speaking to the media ahead of his September 12 WBC welterweight world ******* le defence against Conor Benn.
Moses Itauma (14-1, 12 KOs) entered the ring at the O2 Arena as a huge odds-on favourite against the experienced Croatian, Filip Hrgovic (21-1, 16 KOs). Itauma took no time to settle, quickly showcasing his blistering hand speed and impressive accuracy.
Despite the constant onslaught from Itauma, Hrgovic stood tall and took everything, and as the fight progressed, the Brit looked to be tiring. The Croat's right hand began to land with more regularity. The ninth round saw Itauma enter a state of barely being able to stand up, and Hrgovic let his hands go, with the towel coming in from Ben Davison just as the referee stepped in to wave the fight off. The O2 fell into stunned silence as Hrgovic and his team celebrated wildly that he was the new IBF heavyweight world champion.
"It's a marathon. Don't look too much into this defeat. Look into what you need to fix, for sure. But don't let it get you down completely. You were obviously the better fighter. You just weren't conditioned, and you just don't have enough experience at this current time to take that.
"But I don't think he did bad. He was doing pretty good, but…I don't know what was going on with his head. If you watch his interviews before, he's saying that he's not the best physcially right now (not sparred 12 rounds), nor mentally, but it will still be enough to beat Hrgovic. That's a really bad mindset," said Garcia, reflecting on Itauma's defeat.
#brit
Moses Itauma (14-1, 12 KOs) entered the ring at the O2 Arena as a huge odds-on favourite against the experienced Croatian, Filip Hrgovic (21-1, 16 KOs). Itauma took no time to settle, quickly showcasing his blistering hand speed and impressive accuracy.
Despite the constant onslaught from Itauma, Hrgovic stood tall and took everything, and as the fight progressed, the Brit looked to be tiring. The Croat's right hand began to land with more regularity. The ninth round saw Itauma enter a state of barely being able to stand up, and Hrgovic let his hands go, with the towel coming in from Ben Davison just as the referee stepped in to wave the fight off. The O2 fell into stunned silence as Hrgovic and his team celebrated wildly that he was the new IBF heavyweight world champion.
"It's a marathon. Don't look too much into this defeat. Look into what you need to fix, for sure. But don't let it get you down completely. You were obviously the better fighter. You just weren't conditioned, and you just don't have enough experience at this current time to take that.
"But I don't think he did bad. He was doing pretty good, but…I don't know what was going on with his head. If you watch his interviews before, he's saying that he's not the best physcially right now (not sparred 12 rounds), nor mentally, but it will still be enough to beat Hrgovic. That's a really bad mindset," said Garcia, reflecting on Itauma's defeat.
#brit
1 day ago
