Hrgovic Suspended 30 Days After 163 Punches From Itauma
Britain's boxing board suspended the new IBF heavyweight champion for a month after he took 163 punches from Moses Itauma. His opponent received twice as long a ban.
By the ninth round in London, Moses Itauma could no longer stand up straight. He staggered around the center of the ring, his arms hanging at his sides, and a towel came sailing over the ropes from his corner. Referee Howard Foster stopped the fight with 2:27 left in the round, at almost the same moment trainer Ben Davison threw in the towel as a sign of surrender. Filip Hrgovic became the new IBF heavyweight world champion that night, but the belt came with a bill that was still being tallied days after the fight.
The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC), the governing body for professional boxing in Britain, handed Hrgovic a 30 day ban from boxing and sparring. His opponent, 21 year old Itauma, received twice that penalty, 45 days, because he left the fight in far worse shape.
Why was Itauma punished twice as hard?
The numbers from the fight explain why the BBBofC split the penalties the way it did. Itauma dictated the pace through the first seven rounds, landing 163 of 416 punches thrown and pushing Hrgovic to the brink. The Croatian boxer weathered every assault, though, landing 90 of his own 346 attempts, and waited for the moment the young Briton ran out of gas. Itauma faded completely in the eighth and especially the ninth round, while Hrgovic, despite absorbing 163 punches, stayed on his feet until the finish.
Even after the fight was stopped, Itauma could not stand without help. He was carried out of the ring and taken to hospital by stretcher for tests. He was discharged a few hours later for home recovery, and the longer suspension he received is meant precisely to monitor for possible concussion symptoms in the weeks ahead.
This is not Hrgovic’s first medical break, and that history is exactly why 30 days is routine for him. His only loss as a professional came against Daniel Dubois, when the fight doctor stopped the bout in the eighth round over a cut that was bleeding heavily. He drew a 45 day ban then, while the wound healed. Later, after wins over Zhang and Demsey McKean, a month long pause followed again, that time because of 12 rounds absorbed and a heavy volume of punches taken. In the bout with Chinese heavyweight Zhang, whom he beat on points, doctors found signs of significant head trauma in both fighters and ordered a monitoring period for each.
Under BBBofC rules, any boxer who loses by knockout or technical knockout automatically receives a minimum 28 day suspension, and depending on a doctor’s assessment that period can stretch to 45 days. In the most serious cases, involving fractures, more severe concussions or other major head injuries, a ban can run as long as six months, or even indefinitely, though such cases are thankfully rare. The rule applies to the winner as well as the loser, since the winner also absorbs dozens of head shots on average, which is why 30 days for Hrgovic is simply routine precaution.
Hrgovic has never been knocked out in his career, and he now also carries the IBF heavyweight belt, his first world title. A month without the ring or sparring is, given his history of suspensions, more of a formality than an obstacle for him. The real question is who British promoters will pick for his first title defense, and that answer will only come once the BBBofC lifts the ban and Hrgovic starts camp again.
