Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison believes Moses Itauma is a “great prospect”, but questions whether the 21-year-old is genuinely ready to swim with sharks.
Up to this point, Itauma has won every professional fight in dominant fashion, displaying signs of true world-class potential in each performance.
There is no guarantee, however, that the Brit will dominate the world scene, especially while his most notable victory came against fringe contender Jermaine Franklin.
Itauma secured a fifth-round finish over the typically durable American in March, yet this does necessarily mean he will become a long-reigning world champion.
His championship credentials should become more obvious on August 29, though, when the unbeaten knockout artist faces Filip Hrgovic at London’s O2 Arena.
Having only lost to Daniel Dubois, Hrgovic is widely regarded as a top 10 heavyweight, capable of testing whether Itauma has what it takes to compete with the very best.
Should he emerge triumphant then Itauma, after just 15 professional outings, will be knocking on the door for a world title shot.
In a discussion with Sky Sports, though, former heavyweight operator Harrison suggested that such talk of Itauma challenging for world titles is premature.
“[He’s a] great prospect, [I] love everything he’s doing, but stop talking to me about world titles for Moses.
“He needs to stay in the lab [gym]. Once you go up, you can’t come back down. He’s not ready for a 12-round war against the right kind of opponent; the right kind of opponent’s going to give him the blues at that level.”
Rightly or wrongly, Itauma is already a leading contender with both the WBO and WBA, while also boasting a No.4 ranking with the WBC.
