Heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma is seen as the UK’s next world champion by some fans. They’re impressed by the knockouts that the fringe contender is scoring, but he’s still not fought anyone yet to show whether he’s for real.
His promoter is matching him carefully as he should, but fans could be disappointed when Itauma is finally matched against someone with actual talent.
The Frank Warren-promoted 20-year-old Itauma (11-0, 9 KOs) knocked out journeyman Demsey McKean in the first round last week in Riyadh and has his British fans excited about his potential. He initially dropped McKean with a left to the back of his head and knocked him down again.
The Next Big Thing?
Some boxing fans have been talking of Itauma breaking Mike Tyson’s record of becoming the fastest heavyweight world champion. That’s NOT happening. Itauma CAN’T break Mike Tyson’s record unless he gets a world title shot within the next four months. Mike Tyson was 20 and four months old when he captured his first world title, stopping WBC champion Trevor Berbick in the second round on November 22, 1986.
It would be a bad idea to put Moses Itauma in with heavyweight champions Daniel Dubois or Oleksandr Usyk. He would likely be exposed, just like his brother, Karol Itauma.
It’s still too early to say whether Itauma will pan out because he has yet to fight a world-class heavyweight and is not tall at 6’2″. Itauma’s brother, Karol, also looked good initially, but when he faced a decent light heavyweight, Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna, he was knocked out in the fifth round.
Every fighter looks good initially when they’re matched against the kind of opposition that Moses has been fighting.
Drinking The Kool-Aid
“They’re looking at this kid to be the next great heavyweight to come out of England, and they might be right,” said Teddy Atlas on his channel, talking about 19-year-old Moses Itauma. “Ben Davison is the trainer. He’s the same guy that trains [Anthony] Joshua and is doing a good job with him.
“His talent is inescapable. He doesn’t look like a guy that is a big puncher until he hits you. He’s[Itauma] has got a shot to break Mike Tyson’s record to become the youngest heavyweight of all time. He’s only 11-0, though.”
Itauma is a decent contender, but I don’t see him winning a world title unless he follows the Kubrat Pulev and Mahmoud Charr route by capturing the WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight strap. It doesn’t take much talent to win that belt. While Usyk and Dubois are around, Itauma isn’t going to win any of the prestigious belts.
If some of the other contenders, like Agit Kabayel or Martin Bakole, get their hands on a world title, I don’t see him beating either of those guys. Itauma is a good basic contender but NOT the next British heavyweight champion. He won’t replace the asking Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua as the next star in the UK.
“He’s got a great promoter, Frank Warren,” said Atlas about Itauma. “He has the talent, but he doesn’t have the experience to fight a Usyk or a Dubois.
He’s got speed to go with it [power]. He’s calm, he’s confident, and his technique is solid. They’ve done a good job with him. You’ve got to have good technique if you’re going to have talent. He showed me he’s smart,” said Atlas.
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