British heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma has admitted he is being ‘wound up’ by Filip Hrgovic’s pre-fight taunts ahead of their IBF heavyweight world title clash on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London.
Itauma, 21, said he had tried to stay unbothered by Hrgovic’s jibes but conceded the Croatian’s mind games were beginning to get to him after being repeatedly labelled a “kid” with limited experience.
“I tell myself there’s nothing that this Hrgovic guy can do to get in my head, but he’s starting to wind me up,” Itauma said, singling out a recent comment in which Hrgovic mockingly suggested he “wakes up and hugs trees” as particularly irritating.
“In my mind, if somebody’s trying to get one up on you, or trying to get in your head, it’s because they’re not confident in themselves,” he added.
Hrgovic, 34, further needled his younger opponent by leaving him off his personal top-five list of heavyweights in the world days before their fight, naming himself fourth behind Oleksandr Usyk, Daniel Dubois and Agit Kabayel, with Tyson Fury completing the list in fifth.
“Usyk has to be considered the leader, that’s not even up for debate, and behind him are Dubois, Kabayel, me, and Fury. But I should say that I’m capable of beating any of them,” said Hrgovic, a bronze medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The Croatian, who holds a professional record of 20 wins, one loss and 15 knockouts, insisted his experience would prove decisive.
“I know the boxing world write me off in this fight, like he’s new Mike Tyson, young kid, young destroyer, but I believe in myself, and this is the biggest fight of my life, and it’s in the right moment,” he said.
“They hype him a lot. He definitely got talent and big qualities, and he’s a big puncher and quick heavyweight, but definitely it’s much more, in my opinion, than he deserves.”
Itauma, unbeaten in all 14 professional contests with 12 knockouts, including a first-round stoppage of former world title challenger Dillian Whyte, said his motivation was unchanged by the vacant belt now on the line.
“I want to beat him as much as I did before the belt was on the line. Of course, it will be an honour. I’d love to be a world champion, but it’s about Filip Hrgovic himself,” he said.
Should he win, the Chatham-born fighter would become the second-youngest heavyweight world champion in history, behind only Mike Tyson, who was 20 when he won his first title.