Derek Chisora shouldn’t be focused on giving Moses Itauma a mild return to the ring. He needs him in towards Richard Riakporhe, an opponent who carries reputable energy for a primary bout again following the Filip Hrgovic loss.
When requested about Itauma’s superb January foe, Chisora gave Frazer Clarke a nod earlier than committing absolutely to Riakporhe. Neither fighter seems to be like somebody who will fall over on the first signal of stress.
“He ought to battle Richard Riakporhe,” Chisora informed reporters.
It’s a demanding route for a younger heavyweight coping with his first setback. Itauma has brazenly voiced his frustration concerning the Hrgovic defeat, admitting that watching the tape nonetheless bothers him. Stepping proper in with a confirmed puncher forces him to deal with these lingering doubts below actual bodily menace.
Nonetheless, the logic holds up. Blasting out an overmatched opponent places a win on the document, however it does nothing to reply what went mistaken towards Hrgovic. Itauma must show he can keep calm at any time when a bout will get messy.
Riakporhe brings sufficient energy to penalize any slip in focus. Reserving him would sign that Itauma’s nook trusts him in a reside contest as an alternative of padding his document with gentle touches.
Chisora did draw a tough line, although. The second Agit Kabayel got here up, his response was instantaneous.
“Kabayel goes to smoke that man.”
That remark outlines his pondering. Chisora sees worth in testing Itauma on the home scene, however considers Kabayel a step too far proper now.
He nonetheless regards Itauma as a future frontrunner as soon as the present heavyweight veterans step apart. Even so, his matchmaking recommendation insists the rebuild begins towards a reside menace. Riakporhe ensures there’s actual danger from the opening bell.
That stretcher trip towards Hrgovic modifications the whole lot about how Frank Warren has to deal with Itauma. Chisora talks like Itauma simply dropped an in depth factors choice or ran out of fuel, fully glossing over the brutality of that end. Hrgovic didn’t simply outwork him. He clubbed him into the canvas with heavy, concussive proper arms that left Itauma immobile.
A beating like that leaves everlasting marks on a younger heavyweight. When a fighter leaves the world strapped to a board, you can not assume his punch resistance is undamaged till he takes one other stable shot on the chin.
Placing him straight in with Riakporhe, an explosive, pure puncher who swings with unhealthy intentions, might wreck no matter confidence Itauma has managed to salvage. If Riakporhe catches him clear with ten-ounce gloves early, Itauma would possibly fold fully, destroying Queensberry’s greatest heavyweight funding earlier than he even turns twenty-two.
Warren is caught in a clumsy promotional bind. Match Itauma too gentle towards journeymen who roll over inside two rounds, and he learns nothing about pacing, surviving tough patches, or taking incoming fireplace. Put him in a real dogfight towards somebody like Riakporhe, and also you danger a second straight knockout loss that turns him into broken items.
The center floor is the place they must go. Queensberry can’t afford to comply with Chisora’s recommendation and roll the cube on a home slugger simply to appease followers. Itauma wants sturdy survivors who will make him work eight or ten rounds with out possessing the uncooked dynamite to place his lights out.
