While watching the action live at BKB 58 in Miami, Tyson Fury shared some supportive sentiments with Moses Itauma, who had just fallen short of shattering a milestone established by Fury’s legendary namesake. Currently training in the vibrant Florida city for a highly anticipated, though still unofficial, clash against Anthony Joshua, Fury shared his perspective on the young fighter’s performance.
The bare-knuckle promotion staged its action-packed event on August 29th. That very same evening, Itauma experienced his initial defeat as a pro boxer, stopped in the ninth round by Filip Hrgovic via TKO. Itauma had entered the weekend aiming to eclipse the record set by Mike Tyson, who remains the youngest fighter ever to claim a heavyweight world championship in boxing history.
Unfortunately, after a strong start in the IBF title fight that mirrored his previous dominant outings, Itauma appeared to run out of steam as the rounds progressed. This drop in stamina allowed his Croatian rival to take control of the matchup and pull off a major upset. When questioned by Bare Knuckle Bowker about what guidance he would give Itauma following the loss, Fury commented,
“This is a brutal game. A very young man trying to reach the pinnacle and become a world titleholder—he took a shot at greatness, but it just wasn’t his night. He will bounce back, get some rest, and return to the ring. The boy possesses incredible talent.”
Tyson Fury demands proper compensation when considering a potential bare-knuckle appearance
Making a grand entrance into the BKB Mighty Trigon, the heavyweight star thrilled the live audience when he suggested he would gladly fight without gloves if the financial terms made sense.
Speaking with Gareth A. Davies on stage, Fury touched on several subjects on an evening that also saw British bare-knuckle standout Mick Terrill stopped in round two by the unstoppable Gustavo Trujillo, who pushed his undefeated record to 9-0 with an absolute finish rate.
Given the deep generational ties of the Gypsy community to bare-knuckle competition, the self-proclaimed ‘Gypsy King’ was asked if he would ever test himself under those rules. Fury responded,
“I fight for money. If you present the right offer… open up the checkbook, and I will show up.”
This story was originally published on BJPENN.COM
