Moses Itauma Opponent Turned Down 6 Different Offers For Tonight’s Fight Until He Was Given A Number He Couldn’t Turn Down For “Very Dangerous” Prospect
- Moses Itauma opponent Dan Garber accepted the 7th offer for tonight’s fight with ‘special’ Itauma
- The promoters struggled to get a foe to face the young Heavyweight after visa issues for opponents
- Itauma vs Garber takes place on tonight’s Chris Bourke-Ashley Lane undercard at the York Hall
19-year-old Moses Itauma is one of the most highly touted prospects that this country has ever seen.
Unbeaten as an amateur, the World and European youth gold medallist is tipped to do big things in the pro ranks and he expects to achieve them at a phenomenal pace.
Itauma has already had seven fights in a year, five of them finishing inside the opening round. The Heavyweight will compete in his first eight-rounder tonight at the York Hall in London and finding an opponent has been no easy task.
Moses Itauma Opponent Explains Hesitation To Accept Fight
Itauma will face 6-2 Dan Garber, who was stopped by Thomas Carty in the final round last November in Dublin. Garber takes the fight on five days notice.
“They offered the Moses fight to me a couple of weeks after I fought Joe (Nakavulevu in early February)”, Dan Garber told swsboxing, “They offered me an amount which just didn’t make financial sense, it was less than what I got for Tom Carty.”
“The money that they were offering, to fight someone of that calibre… (Itauma) is very dangerous. I think in the next 15 years, his name is going to be mentioned alongside Lennox Lewis. This kid is special.”
“So I turned it down. They asked me what I wanted, I asked for an amount and they told me ‘no way’.”
After Garber was out of the running for Itauma he began preparations to box on a home show on May 4 and was also weighing up an opportunity to box on the May 11 BOXXER card in Cardiff – which could still materialise.
“Last Friday, we got a call from Queensberry. I asked them how much, and they offered an amount. I turned it down. They offered another amount on Saturday, I turned it down. This was the amount I asked for on 6 weeks’ notice.”
“They tried to throw in some tickets in there for me that I could sell and keep the money for myself, but I turned that down. Then they offered a bit more on Sunday and I turned that down again.”
At this point, Garber knew Queensberry were desperate as it was too late to book an international opponent and other domestic Heavyweights didn’t want to face Itauma, especially on such short notice.
“They offered another amount yesterday which was nice, I again turned it down. Then they offered a figure that I couldn’t turn down basically, which was a lot more than I initially asked for.”
Garber steps into the ring with Itauma tonight at York Hall but he’s under no illusion that it will be an easy night’s work. The 38-year-old expects it to be the best fighter he will EVER face.