Tyson Fury has advised Moses Itauma to take his time in rebuilding his career after his stoppage defeat to Filip Hrgovic, insisting the British-Nigerian prospect was rushed into his first IBF world heavyweight title challenge before he was ready.
Itauma was stopped in the ninth round at London’s O2 Arena on August 29, despite leading on all three judges’ scorecards, after tiring badly and being overwhelmed by the more experienced Hrgovic.
He went into the fight with a perfect 14-0 record but had not previously gone beyond the fifth round of any professional bout.
Speaking to journalist Gareth A. Davies while training in Miami, Fury said he had warned those around Itauma that the fight had come too soon.
“So from my experience, I said to Frank Warren, I said to everybody who would listen, too soon,” Fury said.
