Moses Itauma went quiet after he saw Murat Gassiev annihilate Kubrat Pulev at a boxing event in December, according to coach Anton Kadushin.
The tempo of the Gassiev-Pulev fight was relatively slow until the middle of the contest when Gassiev finally exploded on Pulev with a left hook the veteran never saw coming, landing accurately with aplomb on the jaw, leaving the former contender unable to get up from the canvas, dazed, confused, and beaten.
For Kadushin, it was proof of concept that Gassiev had finally arrived at heavyweight – but at a cost because Itauma, a fast-rising prospect from Britain, no longer wants any part of a conversation with him, let alone a fight.
“After the fight with Pulev, Moses Itauma went quiet,” Kadushin said in a clip the IBA aired Friday.
“And all talk of a fight with Murat stopped,” he added. “But if this fight becomes inevitable, if we win the next one, if Itauma comes out and says he’s ready to fight Gassiev at the end of the year, and if the terms are right for us, then we’re open to it — we’re ready.”
Itauma is 13-0 (11 KOs) and returns to the ring for the 14th fight of his burgeoning career against American bruiser Jermaine Franklin at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on March 28.
Gassiev has not fought since the brutal Pulev win in December but seemingly wants a stay-busy bout before, perhaps, taking on Itauma after.
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