Before Moses Itauma walked to the ring to fight Dillian Whyte on Saturday evening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, I was very excited about his future.
After watching him stop Whyte inside a round, that excitement’s grown a little more. For someone of his size – he’s 6ft 4ins – he’s very athletic, he has tremendous technique, he’s an effective combination puncher, he has sound balance, and he seems to have the right mindset. He’s a true modern-day heavyweight. Lennox Lewis was perhaps the first. He, Itauma and others are boxing’s answer to LeBron James – athletes who can move really well.
I also think the marriage of Itauma and his trainer Ben Davison is a fantastic one. Davison’s one of the best young trainers out there; he invents novel ways to improve fighters; he doesn’t trains styles, he trains the athlete. His experience of working with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will also benefit Itauma as Itauma’s career evolves.
But the prospect of matching Itauma with Oleksandr Usyk is nonsensical – it, particularly, makes no sense at all to match them next.
It’s absurd to even consider someone who’s had 13 fights, after a relatively short amateur career, a possible opponent for Usyk – the undisputed champion who’s been beating opponents at the highest level for over a decade. The narrative of them fighting at any point before Usyk, who’s 38, retires is insane.
Whyte was the first opponent with a significant profile that Itauma has ever been matched with – and by the time they were matched he was shot. Whyte wasn’t even the most dangerous heavyweight rival in Riyadh on Saturday night – Filip Hrgovic and David Adeleye are both more dangerous. Adeleye, who lost convincingly to Hrgovic, may even have given Itauma fits.
There are champions who, despite having the sublime ability of Usyk and others, can be suitable opponents for young fighters early in their careers. When Floyd Schofield was on course to challenge Shakur Stevenson I expected him to lose but it would have made plenty of sense; his reputation wouldn’t have suffered in defeat by Stevenson, and he wouldn’t have got brutally beaten up or damaged. He, more than likely, would have gone 12 rounds with one of the world’s best fighters and improved as a consequence.
The same wouldn’t apply to Itauma if he and Usyk shared the ring. Usyk demoralises opponents, and he’s the most destructive he’s ever been.
I don’t think Daniel Dubois will ever fully recover from his defeat by Usyk in July because he got obliterated – he at least was competitive in their first fight in 2023. Why would the same risk be taken with the 20-year-old Itauma, particularly when Usyk is still to show any signs of decline?
I believe the reports that Turki Alalshikh, who oversaw Itauma-Whyte, thinks Usyk-Itauma is a good idea and wants it to be their next move. I don’t believe that Frank Warren, Itauma’s promoter, and the others around Itauma are interested in it or consider it realistic. Warren’s Queensberry Promotions also, like Top Rank, have a proven track record of patiently developing champions. We live in a clickbait world in which headlines matter – Warren’s savvy enough to see the promotional value of them being linked.
The last time we saw a heavyweight as good as Usyk is today was Lewis at his peak. Before Lewis, it was Muhammad Ali. Usyk, Lewis and Ali are the top three heavyweights in history. The last time we saw a heavyweight prospect as exciting as Itauma was Jared Anderson, whose progress was badly damaged in defeat by Martin Bakole as recently as 2024.
Post-fight on Saturday Itauma spoke of the interest from his team in him next fighting Jermain Franklin, which by comparison I consider a great fight for him. Franklin’s just beneath world-class level – like Bert Cooper, he’s very, very tough with a solid chin. He has fast hands and throws solid combinations; he’s durable, and he’s diligent and, unlike with the Whyte of 2025, it’s hard to break his will.
Franklin may prove the perfect next step for Itauma, but he’s not an easy fight – for someone with Itauma’s inexperience he’s actually very tough. Itauma’s been dominant so far, but he’s been dominant because he’s been capable of hurting opponents. If he can’t hurt his opponent, how would he fare? I consider the fact that Itauma spoke about him to also be a reflection of no one around him wanting him to fight Usyk next.
Itauma, in reality, doesn’t deserve an opportunity like that when Joseph Parker has already been installed as Usyk’s mandatory challenger by the WBO. Parker’s a former world champion and, largely because of Andy Lee – another phenomenal trainer – he’s improved and at his peak.
By the time of Itauma-Whyte, Nick Ball had successfully defended his WBA featherweight title against Sam Goodman. Ball looked okay, without being spectacular, in victory. He’s entertaining and aggressive, but at 5ft 2ins – despite his muscular build – I don’t expect him to prove capable of competing with the world’s best.
I write that because, if Naoya Inoue defeats Murodjon Akhmadaliev in September, Ball seems likeliest to be Inoue’s next opponent. Ball, who’s in a competitive weight division, already looks like he’s reached his potential – the Ray Ford fight was very close, but Ford has the ability to become a much better fighter – and I’d expect Inoue to knock him out.
Ball’s challenger, Goodman, proved himself a classy fighter at that level and one capable of winning a world title. My concerns about Ball against Inoue aren’t because of Goodman’s performance, but I still can’t help concluding that Ball’s a keep-busy opponent for Inoue for a fight in between Akhmadaliev and Junto Nakatani in 2026.
Trusted Boxing News Articles.
