Promoter Frank Warren said he wants his heavyweight, Moses Itauma, to get experience before he fights for a world title. Warren says he could have gotten the 20-year-old Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs) a world title shot, but he wants him to develop. Itauma will be fighting a still-to-be-determined opponent on the July 19th card at Wembley Stadium in London.
Warren Delays Itauma Title
Frank didn’t mention who Itauma could fight on the card, but it’s going to have to be someone durable for him to get any value out of it. He needs to develop his endurance. It’s useless if he’s going to be matched against another low-level.
To some fans, it appears that there is no real intent to develop Moses Itauma. It’s about creating a hype job to step into the shoes of the retired Tyson Fury to keep the money flowing at the spigot.
There’s no real step-up happening with Itauma. It gives the appearance that his career is designed for a different purpose, a smoke-and-mirrors type of thing to give the artificial appearance of greatness. There are rumors that Itauma has a glass jaw.
The two names Francis Warren mentioned, Jermaine Franklin and Otto Wallin, as potential opponents for Itauma to fight next in July, have been criticized. Both are viewed as ham-and-eggers by fans who have no power or talent. Wallen is coming off a loss to 41-year-old journeyman Derek Chisora. So, that shows you the value he has as a potential opponent for Itauma.
Better Itauma Fight Options
– Filip Hrgovic
– Richard Torrez Jr.
– Zhilei Zhang
– Bakhodir Jalalov
Critiques of Itauma Matchups
The WBO chose to give Itauma a #1 ranking after his second-round knockout of 36-year-old Mike Balogun last Saturday in Glasgow. Given Itauma’s weak opponent and plastic resume, filled with obscure second-tier opposition fighters, you can argue that he should be ranked at #15 by the sanctioning bodies.
Itauma is still fighting minor league opposition, and it’s not fair to him or the fans that he’s moved to the top spot in the rankings. The WBA has Moses ranked #3, and the IBF #7.
“Parker is the WBO interim champion right now, so that won’t happen on July 19. We couldn’t afford to do it on the undercard at Wembley,” said Frank Warren to The Ring. “We could have rolled the dice and gotten Moses a world title shot, but his career is a marathon, not a sprint. I want him to learn his trade. We will look at his options for his next opponent in the next week or so.”
Last Updated on 05/27/2025
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