Moses Itauma says he’d possibly be open to fighting unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk next if he’s victorious in his fight against Dillian Whyte next Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs) is taking a step up in competition in a 12-round headliner on DAZN PPV.
Itauma’s Fast-Track to a Title
There’s no way of knowing how Itauma, 20, will do against the veteran Whyte because his opposition has been marginal, and he never rose above the lesser guys in his amateur career. He turned pro without being tested in 2023, and that strategy of matchmaking has continued for the Slovakia-born Itauma.
Is Itauma Ready for Usyk?
“After [the Dillian Whyte fight] maybe,” said Moses Itauma to Ring Magazine channel when asked if he’d be interested in fighting Oleksandr Usyk. “It’s not the title you want, it’s the things that come with the title. Becoming a world champion is based on opinions, and it’s added pressure, responsibility, and expectations.”
No matter how good Itauma looks against the faded 37-year-old Whyte next Saturday, he’s not going to be ready to fight Usyk. He lacks the pro or amateur experience to be fighting a talent like him. The 12 fighters that Moses has fought since turning professional in 2023 have been embarrassingly poor. His amateur record is almost as bad. Itauma never fought world-level amateurs before quickly turning pro at 18.
Itauma’s Rush to Professional Boxing
In contrast, Usyk was 26 when he turned professional, and Wladimir Klitschko was 20. However, in Wladimir’s case, he’d won an Olympic gold medal in 1986. Itauma never made it to the Olympics due to his rush to turn pro. It was almost like Moses didn’t want to get exposed. So, he turned professional before he had to suffer the defeats that would have tarnished his marketability.
“It’s the fact that you’re crowned the best in the world at that particular time and that particular weight. Obviously, the money that comes with it and the respect. That’s what you really want. Not really the title itself. The title itself is just a belt, really, isn’t it?” said Itauma.
Itauma’s Heavyweight Division Contenders
Just winning a world title doesn’t make a fighter “the best in the world.” In case Itauma has failed to keep up, there are four belts, and numerous contenders, many of them high-risk fighters that he’s never fought, and likely never will before he competes for a world title. Even if Itauma captures a vacant heavyweight title after Usyk retires, it won’t make him “the best in the world.” It would just make him better than the fighter he beat to capture the title.
There are a number of talented fighters in the division that Itauma would need to prove himself before he could say he’s “the best. These are some of them:
Agit Kabayel
Lenier Pero
Joseph Parker
Richard Torrez Jr.
Daniel Dubois
Bakhodir Jalalov
Efe Ajagba
Zhilei Zhang
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