The fallout continues following Moses Itauma‘s shock defeat to Filip Hrgovic.
Itauma came up short in his bid to become IBF heavyweight champion as he was stopped by Hrgovic in the ninth round of their clash at The O2 Arena, after the 21-year-old had dominated virtually the entire fight before being unable to continue due to exhaustion.
There have been many questions asked in the aftermath about Itauma’s preparation, with some fans blaming trainer Ben Davison for how things unfolded.
One boxing legend who appears to share that view is Barry McGuigan, with the Hall of Fame inductee telling Seconds Out that the towel should have been thrown sooner than it was.
“He should have put it in 10 seconds earlier. He’s stood there like a gombeen with it in his hand staring at the guy. You don’t need to get your fighter humiliated. Throw the f***ing towel in when he’s tired. Excuse my bad language but stop it.”
“It just dents their confidence and it’s unnecessary. Standing there like an idiot looking and staring. You can see the guy is exhausted. Do it, throw the towel in, that’s your job. Your job above everything else is to protect your fighter.”
“Another two punches could end his life and could really badly hurt him. I’m a bit dramatic with it but it’s a very dangerous business. When your fighter is absolutely ragged tired and was falling all over the place, throw the towel in, don’t hesitate, throw it in and save him for another day, that’s what you do.”
Davison will have a chance to prove his doubters wrong and add a world heavyweight champion to his stable again next month, when Fabio Wardley faces Daniel Dubois in their rematch for the WBO heavyweight title.
