Fabio Wardley has confirmed that his stablemate Moses Itauma completed 12 rounds of sparring “multiple times” before his vacant IBF heavyweight showdown with Filip Hrgovic on August 29.
The subsequent and widely unexpected fall of Itauma triggered a raft of theories, conjecture, and conspiracies behind the 21-year-old’s defeat.
Much of them centred around the methods of Itauma’s coach, Ben Davison, who was criticised for his handling of the youngster during the fight and what was perceived to have been the level of preparation going in.
Not least Itauma’s own admission, which came in the weeks leading up to his fight with Hrgovic, that he wasn’t sure if he’d yet completed a 12-round spar.
The ‘revelation’ barely scratched the surface of boxing headlines when the interview was first aired on TalkSport. Yet it soon gathered pace in the aftermath of Itauma’s first career defeat. A loss that came suddenly in the ninth round when it became clear that Itauma – who impressively bossed the previous eight rounds – had completely run out of gas.
“I know Moses did [spar] 12 rounds multiple times,” Wardley told TalkSport when asked about Itauma’s conditioning.
“He did it in the build-up to the fight, not before when that interview was done.
“There’s a reason for that because you build up towards something, so he may have done eight-rounders, 10s, then finished on 12s.
“We are big heavy guys, we don’t do 12 rounds sparring all the time, we wouldn’t make it to the fight.
“You have to be savvy about how you prepare for a fight, camps are long, you have to balance it well enough.”
As for the criticism directed at Davison – who coaches both Wardley and Itauma – the former WBO heavyweight champion added: “I think a lot of the chat aimed at Ben Davison is ridiculous. There is clips of the corner work, they were giving him the most direct advice.
“Moses is 21 years old, give the guy some credit, and give the guy a break.
“A loss, as long as you take it as a learning experience, there is loads you can take from it.”
Wardley, 20-1 (19 KOs), is preparing for his October 17 rematch with Daniel Dubois. In the first fight, after a bright start, Wardley was stopped in the 11th round.
