BRITISH heavyweight champ Richard Riakporhe said Moses Itauma’s faulty fitness on Saturday was ‘scary’.

The KO artist, 36, was ringside at the O2 to watch the IBF world title battle with Filip Hrgovic and his VIP seat was close enough to Itauma’s blue corner to see some of the catastrophe unfold.

Richard Riakporhe was concerned by Moses Itauma’s fitness Credit: Reuters

The Kent southpaw was carried out on a stretcher after Filip Hrgovic claimed the win Credit: Getty

The 21-year-old Kent southpaw was superb for the opening seven rounds, peppering the 34-year-old Croat with a range of shots.

But his gas tank was written off in the eighth and he was carried out on a stretcher after a savage ninth-round shellacking.

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Riakporhe – the 6ft 5in Adonis who somehow used to boil down to the 14st 4lb cruiser limit – said: “Even from round three he looked like he was gassing out.

“This is where you have to ensure you have the best strength and conditioning coaches and every member of your team has a reason to be there.

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“Heavyweight boxing is completely different to anything else, it’s like another sport.

“When I moved up I changed my whole team, from coaches to strength and conditioning.

“You have to be ready to go the full 12 rounds every time. It’s scary what I saw in his corner. His mouth was wide open from round four.”

In the aftermath of the shock loss, a talkSPORT video has surfaced in which Itauma admits he might not have done a 12-round spar in preparation for the granite-skulled Olympic bronze winner.

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Hrgovic got the better of Itauma Credit: Getty

And Riakporhe agrees that even though the gameplan looked perfect for the first half of the fight, it fell apart in the second.

He said: “It’s crazy that he never sparred the full 12 rounds.

“You have to go through that in training camp or you just don’t know if you can do it under the bright lights.

“I bring in sparring partners who give me the toughest work. My body is aching all over but I am so grateful for it as you visualise those tough moments.

“You can’t just empty the tank.”

Like the rest of the British boxing fraternity, Riakporhe has rallied around the youngster and predicted a sensational return.

He said: “There’s so many exciting fights out there for him and everyone likes Moses Itauma, even more than we did before this fight.

“It’s an entertainment business and he fully delivered.”