Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte is just seven days away, and it should be an absolute heavyweight blockbuster.
The showdown in Riyadh next Saturday night (August 16) is the perfect boxing narrative – the young lion against the old wolf in a genuine crossroads affair for both men.
Itauma right now is the most exciting thing in boxing – the 20-year-old phenom has a 12-0 pro record with 10 of those victories inside two rounds. But it is the manner of his wins which leaves the pundits drooling, a tantalising mix of speed, power and remarkable ring IQ for one so young.
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Whyte (31-3) meanwhile is now 37 years old and has been relatively inactive for the past three years, since flopping on the big occasion when he challenged Tyson Fury for the WBC world heavyweight title at Wembley in April 2022.
Next Saturday we will find out the answers to some massive questions: How good is Itauma? And how much does Dillian have left?
From Itauma’s perspective it’s a massive test and challenge, and while he will start a hot favourite with the oddsmakers he will not be sleeping on the danger presented by ‘The Body Snatcher’. Moses also revealed why he took the fight, and the reason once again highlighted his mature personality and boxing outlook.
Itauma has big respect for Dillian
He told BoxNation: “You know I’ve got a lot of respect for Dillian. And that’s why I took this fight. Because I know that a win over Dillian, I know how much I respect Dillian, so to win over a man that I respect, where does that put me?
“I ain’t gonna get nowhere fighting people that I don’t respect. And Dillian Whyte, like I said, I was, I was literally in my bedroom, and I got the phone call, do you wanna fight Dillian Whyte? And I said yeah, like let’s do it. Like it wasn’t, it wasn’t like, Ahh maybe not nah, nah. Nah, scrap that. I said, ‘If it’s now, it’s now or never’.”
Itauma vs Whyte on TV
The battle in Riyadh tops a terrific card next Saturday night, with ring walks for the main event not expected before 10pm UK time (5pm Eastern or 2pm Pacific in the US). The bout will be streamed live on DAZN PPV with the price set at £19.99 in the UK and $19.99 in the US.
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