Itauma: «Give Me That Title»

British heavyweight prospect (over 90.7 kg) Moses Itauma (9-0, 7 KOs) commented on his victory over Ilja Mezencev (25-4, 21 KOs).

«I was very surprised. There was some resistance (from Mezencev). He landed jabs, but I didn’t see any emotion from him. I thought I was in for 6-8 rounds. But then came the 2nd round, which didn’t look very good for Mezentsev.

I closed my eyes and landed a punch. I’ve caught a lot of guys with that punch in sparring, but there we had big gloves and headgear, so you don’t feel the impact. It feels like you barely touched them, almost tickled them, but their legs still turn to jelly. Honestly, I didn’t plan that punch; I wanted a few more rounds in the ring.

Before the fight, I thought, 'If they ask who my next opponent should be, if I knock out Mezencev faster than Tom Schwarz did, I could fight him.' In the ring, I even remembered those words. So, Schwarz? And Solomon Dacres. Give me that English title. Or make it vacant; I just need to get into the rankings. But I’m the mandatory challenger, so what’s next?» said Itauma.

On May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Moses Itauma knocked out Ilja Mezencev early in the second round.