Comments Thread For: Lennox Lewis urges Moses Itauma to exhibit patience amid Usyk speculation

[Smash]

it all depends on turki and moses, if turki will put up the cash for the fight and moses wants it then im sure usyk will take the cash and the fight next

[Bennyleonard99]

Moses is the same age as Mike Tyson was when he became the youngest HW champion ever. However, He's had less than half the number of fights Mike had at this point and whilst Mike's record was hardly a murderer's row, neither is Itauma's. I don't think beating Dillian Whyte at this point in Whyte's career is as significant as some are suggesting, Dillian was never top tier & is somewhat shopworn at this point. Additionally, Mike was up against Trevor Berbick, who hardly compares to Usyk. Whilst Itauma appears to have enough in the armoury to stop Usyk, I'd be surprised if he had enough upstairs to make that count right now. I think Usyk would outsmart him and tire him out. If Moses were to fight Hrgovic next and defeat him, whilst Usyk had a tough out v Parker (who surely deserves the shot first) then Usyk v Itauma would be more of a 50-50 in my opinion. But if Moses' team think he's ready now & the opportunity is there, why not? He's young enough to come again should he lose.

How do we all think a 20 year old Iron Mike would have fared had he been up against Usyk rather than Berbick?

Good question. I think Usyk wins but it doesn't matter, The boxing gods have their own ideas and timelines

[Willow The Wisp]

Lennox is dispensing wisdom here.
Itauma shows all the earmarks of a future star of the division, but he is SOOO young!

Moreover, Usyk is no ordinary belt holder; and the manner by which he Dismantled Daniel Dubois, who was himself coming off career defining wins over Miller (where he showed determination), Hrgovic (where he established leadership among the younger guard) and Joshua (A power display where he shook the order of the 2015 - 2025 decade generation); showed clearly that Usyk belongs on anyone's short list of all-time greats, in what was the best performance of the well preserved 38 year old's career.
It seems reasonable that even if Itauma is indeed to be the ruler of the next 10 to 15 years; that doesn't mean he's ready for the likes of Usyk today.

But......


If he continues to develop and deliver, his time may just overlap with Usyk's in similar fashion to the way Corbett's did with Sullivan, Johnson's did with Jeffries, Tunney's did with Dempsey, Ali's did with Liston, Tyson's did with Holmes', and so on, in the grand traditionof the jungle.


Perhaps, if Oleksandr the Great is willing to risk his displacement in the liniage in the ring, and in support of his people in war-torn Ukraine by (easily) tripling his earnings in 12 to 16 months; that 21st century classic could be made.


The benefit from an historian's perspective is another clean passing of the title from one to the next and the avoidance of an elongated confusion of elimination fights before liniage is reestablished.


Perhaps an appropriate time and readiness process might be undertaken whereby:
1. Usyk continues his well-earned dance therapy for a few more months.

2. The long-deserving Joseph Parker gets his shot at Usyk in Q-1 2026.

3. The ready and eager Itauma takes two high-challenge bouts against the risky likes of Andy Ruiz, Anthony Joshua, Fabio Wardley, Filip Hrgovic, Jarrel Miller, Efe Ajagba, Tony Yoka, Ivan Dychko or perhaps even Agit Kabayel.

4. The next Fight of the Century is made in Q-4 of 2026.



Should Oleksander Usyk win it, his name mentioned in the same company as the very greatest ever will roll off the tongue for centuries of civilization to come.


Should Moses Itauma prove equal to the task of unveiling the next era with a victory; he can look forward to massive world celebrity, and perhaps years of epic events featuring himself against the likes of Joshua Edwards, Agit Kabayel, Bakhodir Jalolov, Richard Torrez Jr, Lenier and Dainier Pero, Lawrence Okolie, Alexis Barriere, Justis Huni, Teremoana Teremoana, Arslan Yallyev, Jared Anderson, Damian Knyba, Dante Stone, Mourad Aliev, Gurgen Hovhannisyan, Vartan Arutyunyan, Artem Suslenkov, Albon Pervizaj, Willy Kyakonye, Sonny Conto, Julio Cesar La Cruz, Leroy Clark, Adam Olaniyan, Kelvin Watts, Diego Lenzi, Nnajai Wright, Svetoslav Teterin, Jakhongir Zokirov, Nelvie Tiafack, Dmytro Lovchynskyi, Mark Petrovsky, Martin McDonagh, Donte Banks, Alexander Shaw, Joe Rinaldi, David Surov, Ayoub Ghadfa, Maxim Babanin, Leo Atang, Marcel Jerome, Abner Teixeira and Djamili Moindze; and forge his own path towards joining Usyk at the very pinnacle of the pantheon of all-time greats.