Moses Itauma is deemed by many to be the future of the heavyweight division, but there is one man that the 21-year-old has admitted that he may not overcome just yet.
Since his professional debut, Itauma has gone the distance just twice in his 13 contests, with all 11 of those knockouts coming in the second round or sooner and nine of those coming as part of his ongoing stoppage streak – despite upping the level of his opposition.
As a result, he has risen to the #1 contender position with both the WBO and the WBA, and is expected to face Murat Gassiev later this year, perhaps even for the full WBA title if Oleksandr Usyk is stripped of the title due to his fight with Rico Verhoeven.
However, before Itauma can become fixated with a potential title shot, he first takes on durable American Jermaine Franklin, who went 12 rounds with both Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua.
Another option for Itauma is an ambitious attempt at dethroning Usyk, the standout heavyweight of this generation, with some fans believing the British hopeful could be the only man capable of handing the Ukrainian a first career defeat.
Yet, in an interview with iFL TV, Itauma admitted that he is not fully confident of upsetting the unified heavyweight champion, but that he would relish the opportunity to possibly complete a career-defining performance.
“I am not saying that I will beat Usyk. I would love the opportunity, but there is a pecking order that I respect.”
It is a refreshing realism from the young star, who still backs himself to become the best in the world. If the fight presented itself with Usyk, he would see it, as he told Boxing King Media, as a ‘win-win’.
“The reason why we would fight Usyk is there’s a win-win situation. If I go in there and win, I’m the heavyweight champion of the world. If God forbid I lose, I’ve just lost to Usyk – the champion of the world – and I’m 20 years old. So, it’s a win-win situation.”
Itauma-Franklin takes place on Saturday, March 28, at the Co-op Live Arena, where the Kent-based youngster has the chance to make a statement and outshine Joshua by dispatching of the American operator inside of the distance.
