Am I the only one not sold on Itauma?

How people are rooting against Itauma is beyond me. For a 21 year old he is awesome. Easily the fastest hands in HW and great power, great ring IQ for someone so young. He would be great for boxing if he is the real deal.

Boxing fans suck.... Hrgovic litterly lost to Dubois and possibly ancient Zhang, couldn't put a dent in Joyce's corpse and yet the same people critical of Itauma are talking him up like he is a Prime Vitali Klitschko.

 

Like that lot in yellow after the Bledisloe is decided for another year Kiwi?

 

Oh I wouldn't know I don't really follow the rugby lol

 

The "21yo" bit is critical here, he's still a baby in experience terms, and so far has not been anything like challenged. It is uncanny how he can consistently land a finishing blow so early in a bout when his opponent is still very sharp. Teremoana is getting them out early too, and providing they both develop as expected, Teremoana vs Moses is enticing, power vs speed.

 

It's hard to say just how good Itauma will be.

On the eye test alone, the guy looks like a huge talent. He appears to have great power, speed, timing, combination punching, defence, good footwork, and for someone so young and inexperienced, he appears to have a good ring IQ and calmness.

What we don't know is how well he can take a shot, how good his gas tank is, how mentally strong he is, and how well he can adapt to adversity. He just hasn't been put in a position to have these attributes tested yet.

I am seeing people say that he will become the next big thing, and others claiming he will fail. These two positions are largely based on hope. As I mentioned above, there are certain aspects of Itauma's game that we just don't know yet, so it is impossible to say what his future holds.

I've also seen some people say that he is being protected for a reason, which is a fair assumption to make. Plenty of up and comers in the sport have been protected in various ways over the years to protect a particular weakness, so Itauma may be packing glass or hamster lungs and is being deliberately kept away from genuine threats.

Another reason could simply be Frank Warren doing what Frank Warren always does.

Frank has had a resurgence in recent years. His linking up with Turki, before their falling out, has seen him put on some good shows. What shouldn't be forgotten, though, is that when not being bankrolled by a rich Saudi, Frank is one of the most risk averse promoters in the history of the sport. He has a long history of guiding his charges down the path of least resistance to earn a title shot (invariably with the WBO). He made the WBO into a legitimate belt by having his guys fight Euro level fighters and second and third rate Americans whilst avoiding the top fighters of a division (invariably, the top rate Americans). So, yes, Itauma might be being protected, or it could just be back to business as usual for Franky boy.

 

I think so, too.

And let's be honest for once - the protected narrative ends when itauma stands in front of hrgovic. Successful olympian, fought zhang and dubois without getting knocked out, will land his right often against any opponent, super big and sturdy and a monster chin.

Any list of current top heavies that doesn't include hrgovic in the top five has to do some weird mental gymnastics, like putting old fury in, when he has lost two fights and not fought in an eternity and then looked terrible against makhmudov (edit: now fighting wach apparently - ridiculous - and people criticise itauma for his choice of opponent) or parker who didn't win against wardley who clearly lost against dubois.

So itauma can't have a much stronger opponent at this stage. You don't go from franklin to kabayel, dubois and usyk unless it's just a cash grab. This is quite the longest jump they could take

 

I mean, it depends on what "sold on" really is meant to mean. I'm not sold that he'll be great. I'm not sold on him becoming a world titlist for certain. I'm sold on him being an interesting factor in the mix with some good quality. And I hope he'll continue to be, because it's always welcome.

 

Itauma is Usyk with size and punch power.

His only critics are americans who have sour grapes & eastern euro Soviet style lovers who are similarly cheesed off that the crown is coming back to the British Isles.

The ironic thing is Itauma has an eastern euro link with his slovak ancestry. He has the best of both worlds

 

Moses is the real deal. He didn't face a serious puncher so far but it doesn't matter. Because he would destroy that serious puncher if he tries to punch Itauma, lol.

 

in fairness, AJ is a lot leaner than Ituama. AJ would probably need to fast food his way up to 265+ to look as soft as Ituama.

 

Ituama’s power, speed, and skill/technique are real. There’s no denying it. The rest is an open question that Hrgovic should provide most of the answers to.

 

Itauma is nowhere Usyk. Usyk is a dancer, Itauma is a destroyer.

 

He passes fhe eye test on everything other than gas tank and how he takes a shot. That is what Hrgovic is supposed to test.

 

How people decided that Itauma doesn't have a chin? The guy have been sparring AJ, Fury, Joyce, Okolie... at the age of 15-16. Are you guys mad? No one invites a teen to camps to spar these guys if he is weak mentally and doesnt have a chin.
Also if he had a bad chin someone ABSOLUTELY would've said something about it by now.

Sit down, haters.

He would also probably beat the absolute GOAT of sparring if they spar - Martin Bakole

He is that good.

 

Not to the point that I’m on the “once in a lifetime talent” train that some seem to be on with him. People are talking about him like it’s a given that he’s the next ATG. I’m sold that he’s an exciting player in the division and look forward to watching him fight. His speed is remarkable for a man his size. He is potentially a special fighter if he isn’t carrying weakness that match the magnitude of his strengths.
His opposition to this point has been offensively impotent compared to who he’d be facing at championship level, so his chin, resilience, and adaptability are all genuine unknowns. Hrgovic should test just about everything aside from how he handles elite punching power.
I have a terrible feeling in my gut this is going be another British stoppage though. It’s entirely possible that a fresh Ituama finds Hrgovic early and unloads on him and it gets nonsensically waved off before it gets interesting. It’s always been an issue, but it’s gotten ridiculous in the past year or so.