By Shaun Brown
LIKE HIS punches, Moses Itauma doesn’t waste words. As his rise gathers momentum and more eyes turn his way, the 20-year-old is becoming increasingly aware of how he carries himself and how he sounds.
Two and a half years into his career, with 12 wins behind him, Itauma is no ordinary young heavyweight.
The division’s ultimate prize, currently draped over the shoulders of Oleksandr Usyk, is already in his sights. And when the Ukrainian great eventually steps aside, it’s no exaggeration to suggest Itauma could be a worthy heir to the throne.
Reading the young contender is no easy task. Fight mode requires a tunnel vision that’s worlds apart from chatting with the national press, as he did last week during a media roundtable attended by Boxing News.
The WBO No.1 contender is keen to avoid the pitfalls of being branded a sullen, monosyllabic type – the sort of caricature once pinned on a young Mike Tyson, a man to whom Itauma is often compared, thanks to his explosive knockouts and fearsome talent. Labels and clichés don’t interest him. But after 40 minutes of fielding questions, he confessed to one small concern: “Do you know what it is, yeah, I’m trying to not say one-worded things in interviews.”
On Saturday in Riyadh, Itauma will headline for the first time, in his toughest assignment yet, against 37-year-old Dillian Whyte, who turned professional when Itauma was still seven months shy of his seventh birthday.
During the roundtable, Itauma described himself as “an angry kid”.
And before last December’s fight with Demsey McKean, he told BN: “I never feel the happy sides of my life. It’s only really the angry, annoying sides.
“When I’ve won a fight, I don’t get too happy; I don’t get too excited.”
“I feel like everybody has to go through a period of a bit of an identity crisis,” he added. “They actually kind of discover themselves. What makes me happy? I don’t really know.
“I don’t chase happiness. I feel like a lot of people are too insulated to their emotions nowadays, and I feel like that’s where a lot of problems come. I feel like I’m disciplined to what I’ve got to do.”
The Whyte fight is, in his own words, a “huge deal” – one he feels isn’t getting the recognition it deserves.
Yet, much like he shrugs off praise, he shows no sign of being overawed by sharing the ring with a man who has courted controversy, headlined pay-per-views, challenged for a world title, and shared rivalries with the likes of Anthony Joshua.
“Your goal is to knock the other man unconscious,” he said. “And if you don’t do it, it’s kind of like you’ve failed the task. So, if I go in and I knock Dillian Whyte out, it’s like, OK, cool, I was always meant to do this. Job done. But I wouldn’t say I’ll be happy. I feel like I’ll just be like, OK, cool, this is task number 13 complete.”
Some prospects talk about destiny; Itauma talks about tasks.
He could well be an unstoppable freight train – but one running firmly on its rails. The opportunity to beat Tyson’s record as the youngest ever heavyweight champion has already passed, but he still has time to match Floyd Patterson’s mark of 21 years and 10 months. That would require a world title before October 2026.
The Slovakian-born Briton is certain he’ll get there, though he admits he’s never pictured himself with a belt slung over his shoulder: “I’ve always been a person of action. So, I’ll go and do it. I guess it’s nice to imagine something.”
Even so, Whyte has been on his mind.
“But even me against Dillian Whyte was keeping me up at night,” he revealed. “It was like scenarios were just playing in my head.
“I feel like that might be a problem with a lot of people. The reason why they get so nervous and so anxious in their fights is because they’re too focused on the outcome.
“I’m not fussed about the outcome. I’m fussed about me boxing to my gameplan. When I box to the gameplan, I know that I can beat Dillian Whyte. So, in turn, it’s just going to be like, OK, cool, job’s done. You’ve completed the equation. Whereas if I don’t do it, it’s like I failed. So I wouldn’t say I would be happy if I beat Dillian, but then I know I would be disappointed if I don’t.”
The noise, the fireworks, the hype or even happiness isn’t what his career is about. Itauma wants to do a job and do it right. Saturday night will reveal if the next step in that journey is as inevitable as it feels.
