Heavyweight boxing sensation Moses Itauma is a student of the noble art as he bids for world domination.
The remarkable 20-year-old talent from Kent, England has shown incredible ring IQ as well as speed and power to build a perfect 11-0 professional record so far.
Most fight experts are predicting that the young man they call ‘Enriko’ will be Britain’s next great world champion, taking up the baton from the likes of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
READ MORE: Jake Paul the promoter signs TWO major British superstars in dramatic swoop
While Itauma is completely bought into what he must do to match those lofty expectations, he admits he has a love-hate relationship with the sport. In a recent appearance on the Ring magazine podcast he opened up on the topic:
Sometimes love, sometimes hate
“It’s a love-hate relationship. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it,” he explained.
“I don’t wake up in the morning – I used to wake up every morning, and it used to be my first thought in the morning, and last thought as the, as the day ends. But like, as of right now, I wouldn’t say, yeah, I wake up and the first thought I have is boxing. But at the same time it’s like, I need boxing in my day, you know what I mean.
“I just had a long flight, I was watching boxing the whole way through, do you know what I mean, and um, there’s always something to learn.”
So why the hate?
So while Moses loves learning more about his art and fight strategy, what does he hate about boxing?
”It’s not even the politics. Imagine if I said to you, that, like, for eight weeks straight, you gotta do intense running, intense weightlifting, intense sparring, intense circuits, intense bag – sometimes it just gets too much. And then on top of that, you’ve got people’s expectations, you’ve got this going on, that going on, and then you might have problems outside the ring, and you’ve just got to balance this all out.
READ MORE: Three fights we would love to see for British sensation Moses Itauma
“I guess that’s why boxers get paid a lot of money to do what they doing, because it’s not an easy sport at all. It’s not an easy sport. And I like that.”
One thing Itauma is happy about is the fact everything is all on him once he steps between the ropes. There is nobody else to carry the can for failure. The pressure of that expectation is not a problem for him, it’s something he relishes.
Nobody else to blame
“I like that, not only that, it’s if I lose then that’s my, that’s my choice. I choose to lose. You can’t blame it on anyone else. I think it was Alex Ferguson, or someone like that, said that you only really need nine solid players in the team. Like the other two, they can make up for it, but you can’t do that in boxing. Do you know what I mean? You need to be on the ball.
And erm, that’s what I just love about boxing. It’s such a lone sport, and if I lose, it’s down to me, and I know in my preparations that I don’t leave any stones unturned. So that’s why I’ve got so much confidence in myself, coz it’s either like, if I can say, “Ah, listen, I blame all my trainers” – I chose to have them training, so if I lose, it’s still my fault.
“If I, if I, had thought this was my trainer’s fault, then why did you not move? It’s still your fault, everything’s your fault, do you know what I mean? And I feel like that kind of does make things a little bit more in your hands.”
Next fight for Itauma
Moses will be out again very soon as he looks to build on that perfect pro record. He will face former NFL star Mike Balogun on the Josh Taylor vs Ekow Essuman undercard in Glasgow on Saturday week (May 24). The bout will stream live globally on DAZN.
