Oleksandr Usyk has named his successor, believing that one man has the right mindset and temperament to become a dominant champion.
The Ukrainian vacated his three world titles last month, but remains the lineal heavyweight king as he inches closer towards retirement.
With just one fight remaining, it is unlikely that he will be dethroned in the ring but, either way, a new heavyweight ruler should be crowned soon enough.
Two men to have benefited from the splintering of Usyk’s belts are Agit Kabayel and Murat Gassiev, the respective WBC and WBA champions, who are rumoured to be exploring a unification match.
Equally, though, Daniel Dubois has a strong claim to the throne after dethroning Fabio Wardley for the WBO title in May.
Despite his two previous defeats to Usyk, the 28-year-old is now regarded by many as the world’s No.2 heavyweight following his 11th-round finish over Wardley.
But while giving credit to both Dubois and Kabayel, in particular, Usyk ultimately believes that rising star Moses Itauma will reign supreme.
Speaking to DAZN, the 39-year-old credited Itauma for displaying a level of maturity that belies his age of 21.
“Itauma, for me, is a special guy. He’s very relaxed before fights [and] after fights. No trash talking. Just training. [He’s the] future.”
Before anything else, Itauma must first defeat Filip Hrgovic, a consensus top 10 heavyweight, at London’s O2 Arena on August 29.
The talented prodigy could then end up facing Frank Sanchez for the vacant IBF title, being that they are the sanctioning body’s leading contenders.
