Shortly before he improved to 10 fights unbeaten, scoring knockout number eight by shelling Mariusz Wach in two rounds, Moses Itauma discussed his career prospects and lofty aspirations with Shaun Brown.
BUSINESS is booming in the heavyweight division and there has never been a better time to be a part of it.
It is even more beneficial if you have joined during the embryonic stage of your career and are featuring on some of the biggest cards boxing fans have seen in quite some time.
Moses Itauma is considered by many to be the man who will be king one day and those same voices believe it is not a case of if but more likely when he will take the throne. The 19-year-old Slovakian-born Brit stopped German Ilja Mezencev last time out as the Itauma hype train made its second stop in Saudi Arabia, the place where top heavyweights are earning well but having to continually prove themselves, much to the delight of everyone who loves boxing.
Itauma vs Mezencev found a spot on the 10-fight ‘Ring of Fire’ card last month at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, topped by Oleksandr Usyk’s stunning victory over Tyson Fury.
“What a guy Usyk is,” Itauma told Boxing News, having watched the great Ukrainian at close hand during his triumph in Riyadh.
“I had goosebumps the whole fight. I was like, ‘This is gonna be me soon.’ I was watching it as a fan but I just knew that sooner or later I’ll be up there as well. I had a little bit of a tingly feeling.
“Do you know what’s mad? When I was watching it… [coach] Lee Wylie thought Usyk was gonna win and he was saying [it’s] because of this way and, as I was watching, I was like, ‘He’s doing everything Lee said he was gonna do.’
“Usyk, you have to take your hat off to him. What a guy. He’s achieved everything you can in the sport and two times over from cruiserweight and the heavyweight division.”
Lee Wylie is now part of Team Itauma and an integral part of Ben Davison’s training corps, where the heavyweight hopeful now hones his craft within a stable which features two-time world featherweight champion Leigh Wood and twice unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Wylie is well known for his studying of fights and his ability to break the action down clip-by-clip, frame-by-frame and transferring his respected analysis on to Davison, Wood, Joshua and now Itauma.
“I never studied as much as Lee Wylie did,” Itauma said praising his new team member. “It’s crazy, it’s crazy. He’s got like an infinite amount of videos, clips and evidence. I was like, ‘What… you shouldn’t be able to know all of this.’”
Itauma had been working with Sheffield-based trainer Alan Smith but has now placed his development into the hands of Ben Davison – who once trained Tyson Fury and now Joshua. A trainer who arguably didn’t receive the plaudits he deserved initially but is now recognised as one of the world’s best cornermen. So, why did Itauma – who could have gone anywhere in the UK or America – choose Davison?
“If I told you I’d be here for three or four days,” he replied. “I was with Al Smith at the time and I didn’t know what to move or where to move or if I should do it or not. I literally sat down and talked about it for – like I said – three or four days. I had to make a move and chose to go with Ben.”
“Everything was calculated,” he added. “Everything’s studied. Maybe that’s what some coaches don’t do.”
Itauma’s education has its fair share of teachers to listen to. From promoter Frank Warren to manager Francis Warren to Moses’ 23-year-old older brother and light-heavyweight prospect Karol, who hit a bump in his own progression when he suffered a shock knockout loss to Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna in January 2023.
But when it comes to learning about the sport inside and outside the ring, he would do a lot worse than speak to Tyson Fury. The former heavyweight king chose Itauma to join him for his preparation to face Usyk and sparred rounds with the precocious talent but the teenager told BN he learned about far more than just boxing.
“That was good,” he recalled of his time with Fury. I think I learned more from outside the ring than I did in, like what he was telling me to do with my money or even with media and sparring in general. I learned a lot more outside the ring. Obviously, I learned some things inside the ring but a lot more outside.”
The media? Well, as he was speaking to BN we asked what Fury had to say about that side of the sport. “I don’t want to say nothing,” he joked.
Itauma will have his 10th fight on July 27 at the O2 Arena in London where heavyweight warhorses Joe Joyce and Derek Chisora will fight for a lot more than just victory. It remains to be seen who Itauma will face on the undercard and whether or not he will be in the ring for more than the 230 seconds required last time out. [Ed – Itauma defeated Mariusz Wach in two rounds].
One potential fight for the future could come against current English champion Solomon Dacres, who joined Itauma under the Queensberry Promotions banner last year. The 30-year-old is scheduled to make the maiden defence of his title against David Adeleye, another of Frank Warren’s young heavyweights, on July 20. Itauma will likely have an eye on fighting the winner but…
“That’s if Solomon or David want to fight,” he said. “I’ll happily fight them for any title but it’s if they wanna fight.”
Solomon Dacres (Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
Itauma is somewhat frustrated at not being able to get guys the calibre of Dacres in the ring with him. “I get the blame for not fighting good opponents when the good opponents don’t wanna fight me,” he said.
“I’m a lose-lose reward… because I’m such a young fighter coming through. If they beat me they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s supposed to happen he’s only a youngster.’ And, if I beat them, they can’t really come back from that. So, I understand why they wouldn’t fight me but it’s definitely frustrating for me.”
After his fight on July 27, Itauma will likely box two or even three more times before the year is out. And, in the final 10 days of 2024, not only will he celebrate his 20th birthday (on December 28) but we will also discover whether Fury can get his revenge on Usyk with their rematch pencilled in for December 21 back in Riyadh.
Fury first became world heavyweight champion at the age of 27, bamboozling Wladimir Klitschko in Germany nine years ago to take home three titles. Usyk, who conquered all who came before him at cruiserweight to become undisputed champion at 200lbs, did something similar to Anthony Joshua in their first fight three years ago at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which ended with the Ukrainian becoming unified champion.
Itauma initially set himself a target of becoming a world champion before he was 20 and four months. The same age that Mike Tyson beat the 30-year record held by Floyd Patterson (21 years, 10 months) to become the youngest ever heavyweight champion when he blitzed Trevor Berbick on November 22, 1986, at the Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas.
If Itauma is to take that accolade away from ‘Iron’ Mike then he will have to do so before April 28, 2025. However, it now appears as though that ambition is fading thanks, in part, to what he is learning about the sport.
“My next fight’s my most important fight,” he said. “When I turned pro, I was unaware that there was a lot of things I can’t control. For me to beat that record, there’s a lot of things what I can’t control [which] needs to be controlled and I’m not in a position to do that. What I’m doing is getting in the ring and fighting and I’m doing that to the best of my ability and if it comes, it comes, if it don’t, it don’t.”