Moses Itauma to headline the 02 Arena on July 25th

I think it will be against Hrgovic barring he doesn't get a bad cut against Allen. And Hrgovic would be a very good test for Itauma.

 

Too close together I think. It will likely be against another average bum to give him a highlight KO and low to avoid an upset before his title shot.

 

Hrgovic did say in a recent interview that Queensberry Promotions 'promised' him the Itauma fight if he gets past Allen. But yeah, it is fairly soon after the Allen fight.

Wouldn't surprise me though if it was against a journeyman like Michael Hunter or David Adeleye, whom isn't a step up from Franklin.

Seeing a lot of whispers it might be Gassiev.

 

Gassiev makes the most sense by far

Trinket, step up fight, progression, etc

 

F headline the O2. How about stepping up in competition.

 

I'm not a fan of Hrgovic fighting Itauma, it will be hard for me to watch if he gets knocked out, Hrgovic is my countryman and it will be really hard...

 

Only thing with Gassiev that might concern Itauma's team is that because hes basically a fake regular WBA champion, does that impact Itauma's ranking if he is suddenly this fake WBA champion?

Although, the belt rankings is probably the last thing on Itauma's mind.

 

Do you not give Hrgovic any chance of beating Itauma?

 

I'm afraid of a Tyson vs. Holmes scenario, Hrgovic has problems with his cut and it seems to me that this fight is risky...

 

How is he ranked 1 above Kabayel, Wardley, Dubois when he hasn’t fought anyone top 10?

 

Ruiz would probably be a good choice of fighter at this point, that's if the guy's actually ever gonna fight again. Former champion, terrific chins and powers of recovery. He's been down twice, but we've never actually ever seen the guy hurt or wobbly, and he took some major shots from AJ and ate them for dinner, before he turned the fight on its head. From this point onwards, Itauma needs opponents like that who are tough and durable. No more having 6 months off after an easy fight, no more bums or over-40s that he can knock over in a round. He passed the first test against Franklin which I thought was seriously impressive, we need more guys like that but who are obviously levels above. Franklin was never gonna do a thing to Itauma, it was all about how long he'd last. Ruiz, as we all know, never rule him out. It just all depends on if he still has the hunger.

 

Hrgovic is a statue who doesn't hit particularly hard. Hrgovic is also extremely passive. He doesn't really come forward. More like stands and throws one twos. I want to see Moses in there versus someone who is going to take the fight to him.

That's why all of his fights haven't really proven anything so far. Every guy he's been stuck in with has just stood with him until they get countered and then they retreat to the ropes to stand there and get beat up. Hrgovic is tougher, of course, but he's that exact same type of guy once he starts getting tagged. Zhang, Dubois, etc. have all backed him up to the ropes and teed off on him.

 

Ruiz is with Zuffa so I have my doubts they are going to do that fight

 

I'm not saying Hrgovic is great, nor that he would beat Itauma. He has his clear limitations.

But, what I would say Hrgovic is a logical step up compared to the likes of Franklin and a finished Whyte. He can actually box a bit, and does have a very good chin. At the same time, the questions asked of Itauma mainly is his chin and stamina, and Hrgovic isn't the fighter to ask those type of questions.

Who would you like to see Itauma fight next? @Cyrion