Boxing

Moses shows weigh-in fangs as Hrgovic fracas adds new stakes

DAZN

28, Aug

$Moses shows weigh-in fangs as Hrgovic fracas adds new stakes$

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LONDON — A veering step-up with the right shoulder. Heads mere inches apart. A flurry of words drowned beneath the cacophonous racket of the AC/DC classic Hells Bells .

Then, it happens. Filip Hrgovic turns to face the crowd of onlookers gathered around the ad-hoc stage at Old Spitalfields Market, and Moses Itauma 's fingers finally itch.

The Briton has spent much of the biggest fight week of his life brushing off the verbal jabs from his veteran opponent, playing down his own prospects of history to boot.

It is not the first time that the star has faced an opponent purposefully antagonistic to his swift ascent, who scoffs at the hype machine and insists he will school him.

But it is the first time that Moses has responded outside of the ring. Across his brisk rise to the cusp of superstardom, he has preferred to let his hands do the talking.

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They did here, with a push to the back that sent Hrgovic toppling off the shallow dais sandwiched between a media scrum, two taco outlets and a row of silk-scarf stalls.

They could well have done more after the Croatian responded by reaching through a security scramble and slapping him across the jaw, prompting a multi-body fracas.

Discussions had unfolded earlier in the week surrounding if - when - the Chatham native's string might finally be pulled by his opponent, the red mist allowed to billow free.

It came here, beneath wrought cast-iron frames and glass skylights, amid the aroma of fried shrimp and black coffee - a moment of brief madness, beamed to the world.

As flashpoints go, there have been few for Moses to weather thus far. Whether this half-minute of high drama comes back to haunt his IBF title bid is another matter entirely.

Spectre of loss still lurks for Croatian

Two days is a long time in any sport. When Moses and Hrgovic swept through this building on Wednesday for their open workouts, the storm seemed tempered down.

Quite what has transpired since to further the former's ire is something more opaque. Hrgovic has not minced his words, but nor have his taunts been strictly anything new.

What is new is the occasion. Moses has never fought for the heavyweight world title before. The stakes, truly, are as high as they theoretically get for any aspiring fighter.

All week long, he has sought to keep his head down, keep the narrative contained. He is respectful of his forebears, but equally determined not to be defined by them too.

For the star, comparisons with Mike Tyson or Naseem Hamed are honours he acknowledges, but also wears lightly. His own legacy is something different to carve out.

Hrgovic has pushed it forward repeatedly. An ex-interim challenger, there is a case to be made he is the best heavyweight of the last five years yet to have a full title shot.

That loss to Daniel Dubois two years ago is not a ghost anymore, at least not in the traditional sense that it haunts him. But the spectre does hang heavy across his brow.

Waiting at the side of the stage in a blue tracksuit while his opponent received the red carpet treatment seemed to briefly throw him, eyes bemused and puzzled to a point.

Hrgovic is no stranger to big nights, and nor is he a stranger to a rival with top billing and the glamour-theatre to match. He has been generous enough with it before now.

But for him, Moses is a fighter yet to earn his stripes - and his respect. That will not change until they share the ring this weekend - and even then, it is far from an absolute.

Respectful star bares teeth at last

Moses, by contrast, has offered what he feels is respect for his opponent - the deference of a man whose scholastic appreciation for the sport matches his youthful regard.

His gesture here, by contrast, could read as particularly callow - were it not for the fact fighters far older than him have risen to the bait of macho nonsense plenty of times before.

Even so, it is a sharp about-face of sorts - effectively a man allowing himself off the chain before the job is done. That is something seldom seen from Moses before now.

Look back on his wins over Dillian Whyte and Jermaine Franklin, and there was no shortage of adrenaline-pumped gratification in his eyes and words after victory was taken.

Here, revelling in the roars of support that greeted his arrival, and further emboldened by the cheers after his altercation, he appears as a man with one hand already raised.

Moses Itauma shoves Filip Hrgovic Queensberry

"I just lost it a little bit," he told DAZN's broadcast coverage afterwards, with Hrgovic glowering from the other side of the dais. "I had a little itch, and I had to scratch it."

He has more than scratched it now. He has, perhaps, poked the proverbial bear at last, handing his opponent the response he has wanted without perhaps the satisfaction.

It was considered earlier this week that Moses has the old-school sensibility to bridge generations with his dedication to the craft beyond its sense of pomp and circumstance.

At last, he has punctured that with his own little tête-à-tête - a move that perhaps locates his limits for some, but also explodes his humanity as a contender for others too.

Little time remains before he steps into the ring at London's The O2 Arena on Saturday night. As he departs Spitalfields, expression closed, he knows it is time to deliver.