Shortly earlier than he improved to 10 fights unbeaten, scoring knockout quantity eight by shelling Mariusz Wach in two rounds, Moses Itauma mentioned his profession prospects and lofty aspirations with Shaun Brown.
BUSINESS is booming within the heavyweight division and there has by no means been a greater time to be part of it.
It’s much more useful you probably have joined through the embryonic stage of your profession and are that includes on among the greatest playing cards boxing followers have seen in fairly a while.
Moses Itauma is taken into account by many to be the person who shall be king at some point and those self same voices imagine it’s not a case of if however extra possible when he’ll take the throne. The 19-year-old Slovakian-born Brit stopped German Ilja Mezencev final day trip because the Itauma hype prepare made its second cease in Saudi Arabia, the place the place high heavyweights are incomes effectively however having to repeatedly show themselves, a lot to the delight of everybody who loves boxing.
Itauma vs Mezencev discovered a spot on the 10-fight ‘Ring of Hearth’ card final month on the Kingdom Enviornment in Riyadh, topped by Oleksandr Usyk’s gorgeous victory over Tyson Fury.
“What a man Usyk is,” Itauma advised Boxing Information, having watched the good Ukrainian at shut hand throughout his triumph in Riyadh.
“I had goosebumps the entire combat. I used to be like, ‘That is gonna be me quickly.’ I used to be watching it as a fan however I simply knew that eventually I’ll be up there as effectively. I had a bit of little bit of a tingly feeling.
“Have you learnt what’s mad? Once I was watching it… [coach] Lee Wylie thought Usyk was gonna win and he was saying [it’s] due to this fashion and, as I used to be watching, I used to be like, ‘He’s doing all the things Lee mentioned he was gonna do.’
“Usyk, you need to take your hat off to him. What a man. He’s achieved all the things you possibly can within the sport and two instances over from cruiserweight and the heavyweight division.”
Lee Wylie is now a part of Workforce Itauma and an integral a part of Ben Davison’s coaching corps, the place the heavyweight hopeful now hones his craft inside a steady which options two-time world featherweight champion Leigh Wooden and twice unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Wylie is well-known for his finding out of fights and his means to interrupt the motion down clip-by-clip, frame-by-frame and transferring his revered evaluation on to Davison, Wooden, Joshua and now Itauma.
“I by no means studied as a lot as Lee Wylie did,” Itauma mentioned praising his new workforce member. “It’s loopy, it’s loopy. He’s bought like an infinite quantity of movies, clips and proof. I used to be like, ‘What… you shouldn’t have the ability to know all of this.’”
Itauma had been working with Sheffield-based coach Alan Smith however has now positioned his growth into the palms of Ben Davison – who as soon as educated Tyson Fury and now Joshua. A coach who arguably didn’t obtain the plaudits he deserved initially however is now recognised as one of many world’s finest cornermen. So, why did Itauma – who might have gone anyplace within the UK or America – select Davison?
“If I advised you I’d be right here for 3 or 4 days,” he replied. “I used to be with Al Smith on the time and I didn’t know what to maneuver or the place to maneuver or if I ought to do it or not. I actually sat down and talked about it for – like I mentioned – three or 4 days. I needed to make a transfer and selected to go together with Ben.”
“Every thing was calculated,” he added. “Every thing’s studied. Perhaps that’s what some coaches don’t do.”
Itauma’s training has its fair proportion of academics to take heed to. From promoter Frank Warren to supervisor Francis Warren to Moses’ 23-year-old older brother and light-heavyweight prospect Karol, who hit a bump in his personal development when he suffered a shock knockout loss to Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna in January 2023.
However in terms of studying in regards to the sport inside and out of doors the ring, he would do loads worse than communicate to Tyson Fury. The previous heavyweight king selected Itauma to affix him for his preparation to face Usyk and sparred rounds with the precocious expertise however the teenager advised BN he realized about way over simply boxing.
“That was good,” he recalled of his time with Fury. I feel I realized extra from outdoors the ring than I did in, like what he was telling me to do with my cash and even with media and sparring normally. I realized much more outdoors the ring. Clearly, I realized some issues contained in the ring however much more outdoors.”
The media? Effectively, as he was talking to BN we requested what Fury needed to say about that aspect of the game. “I don’t need to say nothing,” he joked.
Itauma may have his 10th combat on July 27 on the O2 Enviornment in London the place heavyweight warhorses Joe Joyce and Derek Chisora will combat for lots extra than simply victory. It stays to be seen who Itauma will face on the undercard and whether or not or not he shall be within the ring for greater than the 230 seconds required final day trip. [Ed – Itauma defeated Mariusz Wach in two rounds].
One potential combat for the longer term might come towards present English champion Solomon Dacres, who joined Itauma below the Queensberry Promotions banner final 12 months. The 30-year-old is scheduled to make the maiden defence of his title towards David Adeleye, one other of Frank Warren’s younger heavyweights, on July 20. Itauma will possible have a watch on preventing the winner however…
“That’s if Solomon or David need to combat,” he mentioned. “I’ll fortunately combat them for any title but it surely’s in the event that they wanna combat.”
Solomon Dacres (Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
Itauma is considerably annoyed at not having the ability to get guys the calibre of Dacres within the ring with him. “I get the blame for not preventing good opponents when the nice opponents don’t wanna combat me,” he mentioned.
“I’m a lose-lose reward… as a result of I’m such a younger fighter coming by way of. In the event that they beat me they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s purported to occur he’s solely a teen.’ And, if I beat them, they’ll’t actually come again from that. So, I perceive why they wouldn’t combat me but it surely’s positively irritating for me.”
After his combat on July 27, Itauma will possible field two and even three extra instances earlier than the 12 months is out. And, within the last 10 days of 2024, not solely will he have fun his 20th birthday (on December 28) however we will even uncover whether or not Fury can get his revenge on Usyk with their rematch pencilled in for December 21 again in Riyadh.
Fury first grew to become world heavyweight champion on the age of 27, bamboozling Wladimir Klitschko in Germany 9 years in the past to take residence three titles. Usyk, who conquered all who got here earlier than him at cruiserweight to grow to be undisputed champion at 200lbs, did one thing just like Anthony Joshua of their first combat three years in the past at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which ended with the Ukrainian changing into unified champion.
Itauma initially set himself a goal of changing into a world champion earlier than he was 20 and 4 months. The identical age that Mike Tyson beat the 30-year file held by Floyd Patterson (21 years, 10 months) to grow to be the youngest ever heavyweight champion when he blitzed Trevor Berbick on November 22, 1986, on the Hilton Resort, Las Vegas.
If Itauma is to take that accolade away from ‘Iron’ Mike then he may have to take action earlier than April 28, 2025. Nevertheless, it now seems as if that ambition is fading thanks, partially, to what he’s studying in regards to the sport.
“My subsequent combat’s my most essential combat,” he mentioned. “Once I turned professional, I used to be unaware that there was numerous issues I can’t management. For me to beat that file, there’s numerous issues what I can’t management [which] must be managed and I’m not ready to do this. What I’m doing is getting within the ring and preventing and I’m doing that to one of the best of my means and if it comes, it comes, if it don’t, it don’t.”
