Moses Itauma banned from boxing after being rushed to hospital

British boxer Moses Itauma has been hit with a medical suspension from boxing in the aftermath of his devastating defeat to Filip Hrgovic. Itauma was rushed to hospital after failing to claim the vacant IBF heavyweight title at The O2, going down in a ninth-round knockout despite dominating the opening rounds. Itauma could barely stand late into the contest as he suffered from physical fatigue. The referee felt compelled to call off the fight and Itauma's coach held out his towel, before the 21-year-old was helped out of the ring and then stretchered out of the arena, taken to hospital for precautionary medical tests. He was discharged hours later and released a positive health statement, but has now received a ban by the British Board of Boxing Control (BBBofC). The BBBofC automatically issued a minimum suspension of 28 days for any fighter who suffers a TKO loss, which can be extended to 45 days. The ban includes sparring as well as competing as Itauma is forced to focus on his health and recovery. EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page Speaking for the first time after his release from hospital, Itauma said: "So yesterday wasn't my night. We attempted greatness, and we just fell short to the more experienced man. "I want to say congratulations to Filip Hrgovic on his win, and although I never reached my desired outcome, I believe I gained experience that I'll take to my future fights. "I want to thank the fans in and outside the arena. You guys made it a little bit more special and a little bit more electrifying than I expected. It was a f***ing good fight, and I want to thank Queensberry and DAZN for putting this show on. So, God bless, take care, and I'll be back." Promoter Frank Warren was quick to play down the prospect of Itauma returning to such a big stage, having lost on the only occasion he fought past the sixth round. "It's too early to be making those decisions, you want to talk to him first and he will have to want to do it, which I'm sure he will," Queensberry Promotions boss Warren said. "You find out the calibre of a guy. It's all about the mindset and where they're at. You should learn from something like this and I'm sure he will. That aura of invincibility, at the moment, is gone. People will look at that and maybe it will make it easier to make fights for him. "Mentally, he's going to be completely down. We're going to have to talk to him and lift him and see what he's like. It's going to take some time. He's still one of the most unbelievable talents I've ever been involved with. We'll stick with him. He needs a bit more ring craft and needs to stop thinking about knocking everyone out. "Somebody was saying to me this evening (Saturday) that Moses won't feel he's won the world title properly unless he's knocked him out and I didn't like hearing that."