Matchmaking for Moses Itauma could soon be less about choice and more about who is left. It could even be argued that there are few tasks as difficult in boxing right now as matching Itauma and knowing when to let him go and when to hold him back.
After all, despite his form and his talent, Itauma is still only 20 years old. Typically, a fighter of that age would be moved slowly, or not moved at all, and would spend several years racking up wins to ensure their record is pleasing to the eye and contains a zero in the loss column. There would be no pressure on them to take risks, or put that zero at stake, nor would sideways moves, or even backwards moves, be frowned upon. This is especially true of a 20-year-old heavyweight, for heavyweights are known to mature much later than boxers in other weight classes and are blessed, on account of not having to make weight, with longer careers.
The problem with someone like Itauma is that he is 20 going on 30. In fact, if not for his birth certificate acting as evidence, most who look at Itauma would question his age and presume he is considerably older. That’s before he even sets foot in the ring. There, in the ring, Itauma, 13-0 (11 KOs), shows the extent of his maturity and fights with a composure that really does belie his age.
As a result of this, it is hard to know what to do with him. Like a child too advanced for his class, the risk with Itauma is not so much defeat as stagnation and boredom. Even the supposedly tough fights – like his last one against Dillian Whyte – are being passed with an ease indicative of a prospect already beyond beating shopworn contenders angling for a final payday. Indeed, if the first-round dismissal of Whyte was proof of anything it was proof that Itauma has, at only 20, bypassed the prospect stage and is now a contender in his own right. For him, journeymen and faded fighters will no longer cut it as future opponents.
It's now the job of Francis Warren, his manager, and Frank Warren, his promoter, to plot the correct path for Itauma going forward. They, like Itauma, will hear the noise, but must block it out. They must acknowledge his age, but ignore it, too. They must understand why some, including Turki Alalshikh, want Itauma to fight Oleksandr Usyk for the title next, but understand, more importantly, the difference between impatience and negligence.
“We’re not going to be shouting out the window for fights that will be there for us in 12 months,” said Francis Warren prior to Itauma beating Whyte. “He’s in a great position. One of the main reasons for that is getting him on the title trail in only his ninth fight. That [a WBO intercontinental heavyweight belt] got him in the WBO rankings and now things are starting to open up and he’s well positioned. He’s [ranked] three with the WBA, nine with the WBC, and he’s four or five with the IBF. He’s in a position to take an opportunity if the money is right and if the timing is right. But he’s also in a great position to continue working his way up the rankings and then take his pick when the belts become fragmented if and when Usyk retires. That could potentially be where we end up in 12 months.”
Until then, rather than wait, Itauma must continue to build. He must continue to build his record, he must continue to build his profile, and he must continue to build his case.
The people supplying his tools, meanwhile, must know exactly which tool he needs for which job and which jobs are worth starting. There will be interest in working with Itauma, but only for the right money, and there will be many more heavyweights who can think of nothing worse than helping Itauma build. Similarly, there will be opponents Itauma and his team will approach with zest and others they will ignore, pretend don’t exist. Often, in cases like this, you don’t get the one you want, you get the one that’s left – the one most willing. This is something Itauma and his team will soon start to realise, if they haven’t realised it already.
Here are five heavyweights who have been discussed as potential opponents for Itauma of late.
Frank Sanchez, 25-1 (18 KOs)
Reason for it happening: Though only 20, Itauma was recently granted the opportunity to fight Sanchez in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator after Efe Ajagba, the highest-ranked contender, turned down a fight with the Cuban. A win for Itauma against Sanchez would have landed him a shot at world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, which is surely reason enough for any fight to happen.
Chance of it happening: Zero – at least for now. While grateful for the chance, Itauma ultimately rejected the opportunity to fight Sanchez in a final eliminator for the IBF heavyweight title, with his team thinking better of it. Perhaps, in the end, Sanchez was deemed an opponent of the high-risk, low-reward variety, despite all that waited for Itauma in victory. Perhaps the thought of fighting a 33-year-old Cuban at this early stage of Itauma’s career was considered the wrong move. Or perhaps Itauma being ranked at number one with the WBO is a better indication of the direction in which they are planning to take him.
Daniel Dubois, 22-3 (21 KOs)
Reason for it happening: We know that nothing captures the imagination of the British public quite like an all-British heavyweight fight and few are as appealing right now as Dubois vs. Itauma. Better yet, for Itauma, it might take a fight like this to truly get his name known beyond social media feeds and stop him building his career in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where only money and not noise is made.
Chance of it happening: Slim. Although both belong to Queensberry Promotions, which makes the fight easy to put together, the sense is that this is one they would prefer to marinate. It is also a risk for Itauma, in light of Dubois’ power, and a risk for Dubois, whose recent fights have been tough and whose last fight, in July, ended with him being knocked out in five rounds by Oleksandr Usyk.
Filip Hrgovic, 19-1 (14 KOs)
Reason for it happening: If Itauma wants rounds, he could do a lot worse than look in the direction of Hrgovic, a heavyweight known for his durability. In Hrgovic, you know exactly what you are getting. You are getting a long target to hit, you are getting a probing left jab, and you are getting a stiff right hand to follow. You are also getting a solid chin and, more likely than not, a long night.
Chance of it happening: Slim. As with Zhilei Zhang and Jarrell Miller, Hrgovic has been offered the Itauma fight but chosen to rebuff the opportunity. Maybe, like Dubois, he believes in his own potential and sees no reason why he should jeopardise his own plans just to indulge a hyped heavyweight upstart.
David Adeleye, 14-2 (13 KOs)
Reason for it happening: This one makes sense for all the same reasons Dubois vs. Itauma makes sense, but the difference between them – a key one – is that it feels more now. This one can be made in the blink of an eye, with Adeleye and Itauma both promoted by Queensberry, and it could, for Adeleye, be viewed as a big opportunity after losing a decision against Filip Hrgovic in August.
Chance of it happening: Strong. It’s an all-British heavyweight fight, David Adeleye talks a good fight, and Itauma needs to fight someone with ambition after recent quickies with Dillian Whyte, Mike Balogun and Demsey McKean. Throw into the equation the fact that both share the same promoter and there’s every possibility these two could be sharing a ring soon.
Michael Hunter, 24-1-2 (17 KOs)
Reason for it happening: Ever since drawing with Alexander Povetkin in 2019, the career of Michael Hunter has gone off the boil and even threatened to fade into irrelevance. It’s not for a want of trying that he has failed to land big fights, but surely it is now time for Hunter to bite the bullet and discover what he still has left as a fringe heavyweight contender. There could, for him, be no better way of proving his quality than by upsetting a fast-rising heavyweight like Moses Itauma.
Chance of it happening: Decent. No doubt if they pay Hunter the right money to entice him, he won’t say “no”. But one can’t help but wonder if Hunter’s diminishing profile has made the risk of trying to solve his style even greater. He is a good fighter – an old-fashioned spoiler – and he can make other good fighters appear decidedly average. Historically, he is the sort of fighter those guiding a prospect would look to avoid, hence why he has, for six years, been without a meaningful fight. Then again, Moses Itauma is no ordinary prospect. He might also soon be desperate for opponents.
