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Leigh Dawney PhotographyIt has been minutes – scant hours – since heavyweight darling Moses Itauma wiped out former title contender Dillian Whyte in less than a round in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. So naturally today’s forward-facing public demands to know what comes next?
In fairness, Itauma, 13-0 (11 KOs) and the BoxingScene 2024 Prospect of the Year, spent little time analyzing his work from Saturday night – though almost as much time as the work itself required – before asking the same question himself.
“To be honest, what Ben [Davison] was telling me to do for the first maybe two, three minutes, I saw he was doing exactly what Ben was telling me he would do,” Itauma said of his trainer’s guidance in sizing up Whyte. “But it's just, you know, the fighting nerves, whatnot, kicked in. And then after maybe, like, the first minute, I was like, ‘OK, cool. I keep seeing this happen. I can't miss it.’”
Itauma, of Chatham, Kent, England, didn’t go into details about the game plan that helped him take apart Whyte so quickly or convincingly. He had already moved on, in part at the urging of a DAZN broadcaster but also in response to ringside onlookers at the ANB Arena tantalized by the notion of a shifting heavyweight landscape.
“Honestly, I'll fight anyone they put in front of me,” Itauma said. “So you shout a couple names out, and I'm there.
“What's next? What's next? What's next?” Itauma called out playfully, pausing the interview to field suggestions for professional opponent number 14.
In yet another sign of the times, the consensus from those present was a vociferous vote for two-time undisputed heavyweight champion and former cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk, inarguably one of the sport’s greats of his or any other time. Surely, Itauma’s promoter – a voice of reason amid a cacophony of audacious zeal – would step in to pour cold water on such a notion this early in the fighter’s career.
“I mean, he's a phenomenal finisher,” Queensberry’s Frank Warren said of Itauma in the aftermath of Saturday evening. “He catches you and he doesn't get flustered. He gets space on his shots. He doesn't fall into the opponent. Every shot he throws is a hurtful punch, and it's a well-measured punch. He's an unbelievable, unbelievable talent, an unbelievable boxing talent – probably one of the best, if not the best, at this stage of his career I've ever been involved with.”
Bear in mind, though: Itauma just escaped his teenage years in December. He fought Poland’s Michal Boloz, now 5-8-2, in a six-rounder barely 20 months before beating Whyte. He may be a prodigy, but Itauma is also just a baby – especially by the standards of the heavyweight division. Refreshingly, the fighter himself seems as aware as anyone that there is no need to rush a good thing.
“If I’m being completely honest, [interim heavyweight titleholders] Joseph Parker and [Agit] Kabayel do deserve their shot, but I'd love to take that opportunity as well,” Itauma initially said of the crowd-sourced Usyk match-up. “Chuck me in there with them lot.
“But listen, I'm ranked No. 1 with the WBO. Parker is [the WBO’s interim titlist]. So maybe that's a good fight. I know the team mentioned they still want me to get some rounds out. Man, all these fights can happen. All these fights can happen. So it's bigger and better, man.”
And in due time.
“I'm only 20 years old,” Itauma said. “I've got maybe 10, 15 years left in this career. So, man, there's gonna be a lot of this face around. So I'm just happy to be able to put a performance on for you guys.”
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Jason Langendorf is the former Boxing Editor of ESPN.com, was a contributor to Ringside Seat and the Queensberry Rules, and has written about boxing for Vice, The Guardian, Chicago Sun-Times and other publications. A member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, he can be found at LinkedIn and followed on X and Bluesky.
