Itauma insisted the addition of the title changed nothing about his approach.
“I didn’t really have any reaction,” Itauma said to the media this week. “If I’m already fighting Hrgovic and I’ve got the opportunity for it to be a world title, I said, ‘yeah, chuck the world title on the line.’ I didn’t really have any feeling about it. I was taking Hrgovic seriously anyway, and now that the fight’s for a world title, I’m still taking him seriously. It’s the same fight, isn’t it?”
Careful matchmaking guided Itauma to this point. Mariusz Wach and Mike Balogun were past 40 when they fought him. Dillian Whyte was 37, and Dan Garber was 38. Those opponents allowed the young prospect to score quick knockouts while building his reputation as a dangerous puncher.
Quality is more important than age. Itauma has not beaten anyone near the top of the division. Jermaine Franklin extended him five rounds in March, but Hrgovic represents a major jump in competition.
Questions also remain about his amateur experience. Itauma turned professional young after a relatively brief run rather than spending years facing senior opponents from Cuba, Eastern Europe and the United States.
Itauma is already looking toward future competition.
“It’ll have to be Agit Kabayel,” Itauma said. “He’s beaten everybody that’s there. … He’s pretty much beaten everyone who is rising right now, so I’d probably say he will probably be the biggest rival, if that makes sense.”
Kabayel built his status by beating legitimate heavyweights. Itauma has yet to reach that level.
Hrgovic brings size, durability and experience against better opposition. Itauma recognizes the difficulty of the fight, calling the Croatian “solid” and saying, “I’m in for a long night, but I’ll be all right.”
Before Kabayel or Daniel Dubois becomes relevant, Itauma has a more immediate question to answer on August 29. Can the carefully managed prospect deliver when faced with his first serious heavyweight test?
