Moses Itauma’s ring return may be pushed back once more.
The 21-year-old heavyweight sensation has fought once this year so far, stopping American Jermaine Franklin inside five rounds in Manchester.
Promoter Frank Warren had previously booked Itauma’s return for July 25 in London, however the announcement of Anthony Joshua’s comeback bout against Kristan Prenga on the same night in Saudi Arabia led the Queensberry team to instead opt for August 8, still at the O2 Arena.
While that date is still in play, Warren has told Playbook Boxing that his charge could instead go three weeks later.
“It’s either the 8th or [the week of] the 25th.”
This time around the change will not be a clash of shows, but likely extra time for the opponent to prepare. Filip Hrgovic remains the frontrunner after his three-round blowout of Dave Allen on May 16, with the only real obstacle to the match-up being the Croatian’s recovery time after what was a relatively simple night at the office.
Warren remained tight-lipped on the talks, though said he expects an announcement very soon.
“We’re going to announce the fight, I hope, this week, fingers. We’ve got a top ten ranked opponent in August.”
If Hrgovic – ranked in the top 10 with all four major sanctioning bodies – is the man in the opposite corner, he represents an intriguing step up for Itauma, who has so far struggled to find a test in the division. The durable Croatian has only lost to Daniel Dubois, and was stopped on cuts after good success earlier in the fight. He has vowed to ‘expose’ the young Brit.
