Moses Itauma says he got motivation from watching Oleksandr Usyk’s recent victory over Daniel Dubois. He immediately got up and went for a run late at night because he couldn’t “sleep and act like nothing happened.”
Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs) wants to be on the level of Usyk, and he needs to “work extra hard” to get there. Technically, Itauma is light years away from Usyk’s skill level, and with the way he fights, focusing on throwing pot shots, he’s never going to be anywhere near Usyk’s talent level. If he doesn’t trim down, he may have a short career because he shouldn’t be carrying around the amount of fat that he has at 20.
The Itauma and Usyk Comparison
“If Usyk is at this level, in order to be at this level, I need to be at this level,” said Moses Itauma to BoxNation, taking inspiration from Oleksandr Usyk’s recent win over Daniel Dubois. “There’s no way after that fight, I could go to sleep and act like nothing just happened. I would be kicking myself. If these guys are working hard, I need to work extra hard because I don’t really want to lose.”
Itauma is NOT on Usyk’s level and never will be. He doesn’t come from the same amateur background as he did, winning an Olympic gold medal in 2012 with a record of 335-15. In contrast, Itauma had a 20-0 amateur record, and NEVER even fought the best amateurs from Russia, Cuba, Ukraine, or Kazakhstan.
Itauma turned pro without fighting any of the talented amateurs. As professionals, we’ve seen the lesser opposition that Itauma has fought, and it’s an embarrassingly bad group of tomato cans. Again, Itauma is NOT on Usyk’s level and will never be because he’s been spoon-fed soft pablum for opposition.
“I took this fight against Dillian Whyte because I think I can beat him. If I can’t beat him, it’s not because of my age and maturity. It’s because I wasn’t good enough,” said Itauma.
That’s an eye-opener from Itauma for him to freely admit that he took the fight against the 37-year-old Whyte solely because he thinks he can win. That’s him admitting that it’s a cherry-pick on his part, is it not? If you know you’re going to win, what is the sense of adventure and accomplishment in that?
Is Itauma a Manufactured Fighter?
This isn’t like a wartime situation where you know you’re confronting enemy troops in greater numbers, well-armed and likely to demolish your side. Itauma admits that he took the fight with Whyte because he thinks he’s going to win. That’s pathetic when you think about it, and cements the view that fans have of Itauma about being a manufactured fighter from day one.
