The winner of this Saturday’s clash between Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic, which will take place at London’s O2 Arena with the vacant IBF World Heavyweight Title on the line, will then have a clear path ahead of him. Cuban heavyweight Frank Sanchez has stepped aside to allow his two fellow contenders to fight for the belt, but in return he has been guaranteed the opportunity to face the future champion shortly thereafter, most likely in December.
Sanchez, who is coming off an impressive knockout victory over American Richard Torrez Jr., gave The Ring his thoughts on the upcoming bout:
“I think it’s a great fight. It’s really a 50-50 fight. Itauma is really good. He’s very fast, he’s very quick. He has a lot of great attributes. Hrgovic also has a lot of great attributes, and a lot of experience as well. He punches hard. If Hrgovic wins, he needs to catch him and win by knockout.
“Itauma has a very good skill set, and the main differentiator is his speed. I think speed can win fights, and I give Itauma a slight advantage because of it.
“It’s boxing, and anything can happen, you know. Hrgovic is strong, but he’s a little bit on the slow side. Hrgovic has to use his experience and take Itauma into deep waters if he’s going to win. That will be a key benefit for him.”
Sanchez then discussed the importance of experience in professional boxing, particularly in the heavyweight division:
“My message to the young heavyweights out there is that it’s really a process. Don’t rush too much because there’s no substitute for experience. You have to take everything step by step. It’s not an easy business. Experience is everything in this business, and I showed that I had a lot more experience than Torrez. I knew going in that I had a lot more experience than him.
“My biggest advantage against Itauma, if he wins and I face him, is again going to be experience, and that I could match him with speed. Maybe I’m even a little faster than him. And then on top of that, I just don’t think he’s going to be able to take my punches.”