The IBF belt, relinquished by Oleksandr Usyk, will be on the line at the O2 Arena in London tonight, and 21-year-old Moses Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) could become the second-youngest heavyweight champion of all time.
Croatian rival Hrgovic (20-1, 15 KOs) will be the toughest challenge of Itauma’s fledgling career and has been disparaging about the highly rated Anglo-British fighter in the build-up, which continued on Thursday where more jibes were thrown at the Chatham southpaw.
Asked if Hrgovic had got under his skin, Itauma said: “Na, man. At the end of the day talk is cheap. He has just got schoolboy banter and that’s it. You’ve got to keep rolling.”
Olympic bronze medallist Hrgovic hit back: “I am just telling you facts. I am not playing any games. I just tell you what I think in the moment. Like I said, I am not so smart to play these mind games.
“I think he is a kid, he is not mature enough and I think I am the man. I am a much better age, much more experience and yeah, that is it. No mind games. God willing you know I will beat him, I’ll smash the kid on Saturday and send him back to high school.”
As has been Itauma’s manner during his rise in the blue-riband division, the IBF contender was calmness personified and refused to engage with the 34-year-old.
“I want to first address that I am not trying to become the second youngest heavyweight champion of the world, I am trying to beat Filip Hrgovic,” Itauma explained.
“Second of all, this fight is what I wanted. I asked Queensberry for so long. I think it is a style match-up I reckon I can thrive on, the pressure I can thrive on and it is just waiting to fight.
“Obviously the world title is an achievement and an accolade. And that is a plus one, but my sole focus is Hrgovic. If I ain’t going to beat Hrgovic, it doesn’t matter about the world title and it doesn’t matter about the noise or nothing. My job is to be victorious on fight night. I am ready to rock and roll.”
Itauma was told about the kind words of Prince Naseem Hamed, who claimed the 21-year-old is a “million times better” than Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury and can be the best of all time.
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