With Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury stuck in another joyless holding pattern, Moses Itauma can snatch the spotlight and make some history this weekend.
The so-called ‘Battle of Britain’ looks destined to land in New York in November – if it is to land at all with torturous negotiations still holding plans up.
Itauma is the refreshing remedy for that tired old saga. The 21-year-old has left a devastating trail of destruction behind him since turning professional just three years ago. 14 fights have delivered 14 wins, catapulting him into a showdown against Filip Hrgovic for the vacant IBF title on Saturday. Victory will see him crowned the youngest world heavyweight champion in British boxing history.
At one stage, there was the compelling prospect of breaking the record set by Mike Tyson when he became boxing’s youngest heavyweight king after blasting through Trevor Berbick in two rounds in 1986, aged 20 years and 150 days.
That target has been and gone but second place isn’t too shabby. Victory over Hrgovic would position Itauma behind Tyson, ahead of ring legends Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali.
World title glory in fight no15 would also come quicker than it did for Joshua and Fury. AJ’s crowning moment came in fight no16, aged 26 after dismissing Charles Martin in 2016. Fury was 27 when he outpointed Wladimir Klitschko in the 25th professional bout his career a year earlier.
In fact, only three heavyweights will have registered a world title victory in fewer fights should Itauma leave with the belt on Saturday in Leon Spinks (eight), James J. Corbett (11) and James J. Jeffries (13) – with those last two coming over 125 years ago.
Has Itauma had a harder route to a first world title?
For the last decade, Joshua and Fury have stood as boxing’s flagbearers in this country but at 36 and 37 years old respectively, their best years are behind them. Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley have already demonstrated they can fill the void with Itauma poised to join them on the world title scene.
Digging into their records, there are plenty of comparisons to be made between Joshua and Itauma. But let’s not forget just how electric ‘AJ’s rise was, breathing life into the heavyweight scene on these shores. Joshua claimed his maiden world title with his demolition job on Martin a decade ago, maintaining a 100 per cent knockout ratio until fight no21 when Joseph Parker finally took him the distance.
Itauma’s knockout out ratio stands at 85.7 per cent having been taken the distance twice early on in his career. But in Hrgovic, Itauma faces the far greater challenge than Joshua did with Martin. The Croatian, 13 years older than his young opponent, is an elite operator with experience at the highest level, with his only defeat coming against Dubois two years ago.
Before his world title inauguration, Joshua beat Dillian Whyte in an engrossing domestic tear-up in December 2015, putting down the Brixton fighter in the seventh round.
Itauma fought the same man in Whyte last summer, albeit a slower, battle-scarred version whose best years were firmly behind him. Still, the young challenger demolished Whyte in one round – far quicker than Joshua and Fury managed with ‘the Gypsy King’ defending his WBC title with a six-round stoppage in 2022.
Whyte isn’t the only credible name on Itauma’s record. Last time out, he became the first man to stop Jermain Franklin, flooring him in a brutal fifth round. Joshua went the distance with the well-schooled American as recently as 2023.
In fight no10, Itauma was put in with the veteran Mariusz Wach, the Polish heavyweight who went seven rounds with Fury in their low-key bout in July. Wach has long served as gatekeeper for fighters who harbour hopes of forcing their way into the world title picture having also challenged for major honours himself earlier in his career. Itauma sent him packing in two rounds. There is also a very credible victory over Demsey McKean on his record in fight no9.
Is he the future of British boxing?
After winning Olympic gold in 2012, Joshua became the new hope for British boxing and the fervour that accompanied his rise to the summit demanded mainstream attention. Comparatively, Itauma’s rise has been less high profile and he does he not hold the same level of fame Joshua had at the same stage of his career. Should he deliver the sort of devastating performance we expect of him on Saturday, that could all change.
‘He’s the best young fighter at this stage of his career that I’ve been involved with. He’s so mature, mentally and physically, as a fighter. He’s got a tremendous boxing brain and he’s very articulate,’ Itauma’s promoter Frank Warren said this week.
‘He’s a very smart young man, he’s got a very smart brain. He’s very level-headed, very humble. But I’ll tell you what, he can fight.
‘If he comes through, I don’t think he’d just be an icon in boxing. He’d be a sporting icon.’