Eddie Hearn’s “Brilliant Matchmaking”: Moses Itauma vs. Dillian Whyte’s Riyadh Clash Examined

Promoter Eddie Hearn is calling the Moses Itauma vs. Dillian Whyte heavyweight fight “brilliant matchmaking” for their planned clash on August 16th in Riyadh.

Do They Deserve Millions?

Hearn says the money that Whyte will receive for fighting in Riyadh will be “fantastic.” He doesn’t say how much, but the $20 million Ryan Garcia and $10 million Devin Haney received last month at the Times Square event in New York are good working estimates about what Whyte and Itauma will receive, if not more.

Do they deserve it? No. Whyte is washed, and Itauma is just a prospect. He’s a contender, but he’s still a prospect because he’s never fought a contender, and he still will never after the Whyte clash. Dillian is no longer ranked in the top 15 due to his losses and inactivity. Whyte and Itauma deserve to be paid in the thousands, not millions, based on the opposition they’ve fought recently.

The opposition Itauma’s promoters have matched him against would lose to every fighter in the top 15. It’s impossible to know if Itauma is a good fighter because he’s been kept in the kiddie pool since he turned pro. He didn’t have a real amateur career to speak of. So, this is his amateur career now. He’s going to become wealthy on August 16th. If Whyte exposes Itauma as a fake, he’ll at least have the Riyadh millions to live off of.

The fight is being finalized for the summer and marks the 20-year-old Itauma’s (12-0, 10 KOs) first step up against the 37-year-old Whyte (31-3, 21 KOs), who is seven years past his prime. This provides Itauma the opportunity to see what it’s like to face someone who has decent skills and still formidable power.

Hearn notes that Itauma has not fought world-class opposition during his career. So, there’s no way of knowing how he’ll react when he gets hit by Whyte. We know that Itauma’s brother, Karol Itauma, was matched the same way as him, fighting tomato cans.

When he stepped up, he was blown out at the journeyman level. The same might happen with Moses, because his opposition has been beyond terrible. Even amateurs fight better opposition than the cans that Itauma has fought as a pro.

Whyte’s “Fantastic” Riyadh Money

“The money is obviously fantastic, he’s at the end of his career, and I’m not saying he’s taking it just for the money. Dillian is a game man. I’m sure he’ll think he can win that fight. It’s another huge night in Riyadh,” said Eddie Hearn to The Stomping Grounds about the Moses Itauma vs. Dillian Whyte fight on August 16th.

“It’s still activity. Dillian is a great heavyweight. He’s very tough. I think. He [Whyte] went for the Moses fight instead [of Anthony Joshua], and good luck to him. It’s not an easy fight but I just think style-wise and with Dillian’s activity, it’s a nightmare.”