BEN DAVISON believes his electrifying heavyweight talent, Moses Itauma, is two fights away from challenging the division’s best.
At 20, the Slovakian-born British southpaw is unbeaten in 11 pro bouts (9 KOs) since debuting in January 2023, cementing his status as boxing’s most touted young star. Itauma has torn through opponents with blazing speed, saving his standout performance for December 21, 2024, when he flattened Demsey McKean in one round on the Usyk-Fury 2 undercard in Riyadh. Four months earlier, McKean had lasted nearly 12 rounds with Filip Hrgovic before a final-round stoppage—a testament to Itauma’s devastating edge.
Once tipped to eclipse Mike Tyson’s record as the youngest heavyweight champion (set at 20 years, 4 months, 22 days on November 22, 1986), Itauma turned 20 on December 28, 2024. He’d need a title shot by May 19, 2025, to beat it.
Next up, he’s slated for the Josh Taylor-Ekow Essuman undercard on May 24 in Glasgow. Ranked No. 2 by the WBO, No. 3 by the WBA, and No. 9 by the IBF, Itauma’s title ambitions loom large, even as Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois eye a rematch later this year.
In a sit-down with One On One Boxing, Davison fielded the big question: Is Itauma ready for someone like Usyk? “I wouldn’t bet my house that he wouldn’t,” he replied. “Would it be a risk? Of course. But there isn’t anyone in the division I think he can’t beat. There’s some style match-ups that I would prefer a little bit more experience in this area, would prefer a little bit more experience in that area before going into a fight like that.
“There’s a couple of fights—I’m not going to mention any names—that I’d like him to take. If he comes through, we take the leash off. I think the training camps would stand him in good stead. And winning in the fashion that I think he would, I think he’s there, I think he’s ready.”
Davison revealed he and Itauma have already mulled a Usyk clash. “He asked me, ‘If that come about, would you take it?’ I said it’s obviously open for a discussion, but I think it’s something that you would have to.
“I’m not going to sit here and go he wipes the floor with him, he does this, he does that. But I certainly would not bet my house that he wouldn’t. I think it kind of speaks volumes that we’re even having that conversation.”
