May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a massive night for heavyweight boxing – and not just because of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury (34-0-1) and Usyk (21-0) will do battle in the desert to provide the sport with a first undisputed champion in its marquee weight class since the great Lennox Lewis back in 1999.
But on the undercard there is a ton of heavyweight interest – including a WBC final eliminator featuring Germany’s Agit Kabayel (24-0) vs ‘Cuban Flash’ Frank Sanchez (24-0).
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If you look further down the card though, there might be something with even more future significance when it comes to the heavyweight division – young British sensation Moses Itauma (8-0) getting his first shot at an actual title in the paid ranks.
The Kent teenager is already spoken of in reverential tones (check out the clip featuring a certain Tyson Fury below) having sparred some of the sport’s top names. And according to reports, more than held his own. His promoter Frank Warren meanwhile confidently believes he will be ‘the next big thing in the heavyweight division.
Itauma title bid on May 18
We already knew that Itauma would be having his 9th pro fight on that Fury vs Usyk undercard, and we knew he’d be facing German heavy Ilja Mezencev (25-3 with 21 wins inside distance). And now we know it has a little extra significance with the vacant WBO Intercontinental Heavyweight title on the line.
It might not be the biggest bauble of them all, but it is a step in the direction Itauma believes he is headed. His stated aim is to beat Mike Tyson’s record of becoming the youngest ever heavyweight champion.
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‘Iron Mike’ was just 20 years, 4 months and 23 days when he knocked out Trevor Berbick in November 1986 to become heavyweight king, meaning Itauma is in a race against time to try to beat that record.
While that now seems unlikely, his path to the top level is under way and boxing fans the world over will get a chance to watch the next step in his development on Saturday week.
