Moses Itauma is seen as the future of boxing’s heavyweight division, but he has utmost respect for its current elite.
The 20-year-old superstar from Chatham, Kent possesses unbelievable talent, and has raced to an 11-0 pro record with 9 of those wins coming inside the first two rounds.
‘Enriko’ is a walking highlight reel, and appears to be a worthy successor to the current British generation – led by Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Itauma knows both men well, and down the years he has learned much from being around them in gyms, and from sparring.
With that in mind, one thing does annoy and surprise Moses, why do so many people hate AJ? This is a two-time heavyweight champion of the world who has been a major flag bearer for the sport at home and abroad.
Itauma defends Joshua
He told the Ring magazine podcast: “One thing that does annoy me, though, is obviously – Take Anthony Joshua, for example, like, I don’t understand why he’s so hated. I don’t understand, like why I’ll go to the gym and someone’s, like, hating on him.
“Like he’s done so much for British boxing, he’s done so much for the sport, and like, I know for sure everybody that’s saying, ‘Ah, he can’t fight, he can’t do this, he can’t do that’ – Anthony Joshua will be able to, do you know what I mean, would be able to do some serious damage to some people.
“And yet he’s gotta sit there and listen to what these lot say, do you get now what I mean. So like, it must be a hard sport because you’re listening to people saying you can’t fight and they’ll probably be able to knock you out.”
Moses learning from the best
At his tender age, Itauma is just happy to be able to be around boxing royalty, and soak up what they can offer in terms of advice and knowledge. He’s also happy to become a role model and ambassador for the sport.
He said: “I’m happy with my shoes. I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t change it for the world. And the fact is that, like, if anyone’s obviously hating on someone else trying to better their lives, and obviously that shows where they are at.
“Like I said, it is, it is a sport because it’s fun, because you get the stick even though you know, like, you can probably bust some guys up, but even being able to talk to someone like AJ is a big blessing for me.
“Not too long ago I was just speaking to him, and I was asking him just so many questions about, about, about just not even boxing, just life in general, and that’s the exact same for Tyson, it’s the exact same for Joe Parker, whoever. That’s what I love about this sport.”
“And another thing, I’m at the train station and I’m talking to everyone, d’you get what I mean? Like, when would you ever, like – a footballer – when would you see them at a train station? I’m just like, a normal guy trying to better myself. I just love the sport. And I sometimes love it, sometimes hate it, but I’m just trying to do what’s right for me and my family.”
When will Itauma fight next?
Itauma himself will be out next on Saturday May 24 in Glasgow, when he fights former NFL star Mike Balogun.
After that it is expected he will move up in class as he looks to gain more experience en route to an expected world title shot in the not too distant future.
