Moses Itauma returns to the ring this weekend to face Mike Balogun in Glasgow, but already thoughts are turning to possible future challenges.
The brilliant 20-year-old from Kent is seen by many as the future of boxing’s heavyweight division, including his Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren.
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‘Enriko’ is expected to steamroller the 21-1 American Balogun on the Josh Taylor vs Ekow Essuman undercard (live on DAZN) and Warren is hopeful he will remain pretty busy for the remainder of 2025 as he continues to move up in class.
Who is next for Moses Itauma?
Assuming Itauma comes through unscathed against Balogun (he is currently a 1/25 favourite), there are plenty of big fights out there which could take him to the next level (we detailed three in a recent feature).
One of them is a potential blockbuster vs huge Congolese star Martin Bakole (21-2-1) and it’s a fight that Warren has said in the past he would make in a heartbeat. It appears though the Bakole camp may not be quite as eager to get it on just yet.
Warren, speaking to BoxNation, said: “Billy Nelson sent me a text about making the fight in the end of the year or next year. Moses is not sitting around waiting for him, is he. He’s gonna get on with his business and who knows, I would expect by the end of this year Moses to have at least another three fights.”
Warren is at pains to point out he’s in the business of promoting Itauma, but he did issue a warning to the Bakole camp that waiting to face Moses may not be the best idea.
“If I was gonna fight Moses, I’d fight him now, I wouldn’t wanna be fighting him in three fights time when he’s got more experience and he’s growing and maturing but that’s what it is. I haven’t gotta drum up Bakole in my job, I’m in the Moses Itauma business and that’s all I care about, is Moses, and I have no problem with him fighting Bakole at all.”
Itauma vs Hrgovic in 2025?
Another tantalising future option for Itauma is the Croatian banger Filip Hrgovic (18-1), who bounced back to winning ways recently with a hard-fought decision over Joe Joyce in Manchester. He had previously dropped his first pro loss to now IBF world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois last summer.
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Hrgovic would take Itauma right up to just beneath the current heavyweight elite – comprising of the likes of Oleksandr Usyk, Dubois and co. Again it’s a fight that Warren would not be afraid to make soon.
He said: “I think that’s a good fight to make. I wouldn’t have no problem doing that some time this year.”
Moses Itauma record
Itauma’s development has boxing purists and casuals drooling – so intoxicating is the mix of devastating speed, power and accuracy. He has a remarkable ring IQ for one so young, and is expected to be fighting for world titles sooner rather than later.
He has built an 11-0 pro record with nine of those victories coming inside the first two rounds. The last of those wins was a quite spectacular one-round demolition job on the tough and durable Aussie Demsey McKean in Riyadh last December.
