It was Saturday July 19, 2025 and fast approaching bedtime for most people. But Moses Itauma is not most people.
Itauma had just watched Oleksandr Usyk dominate Daniel Dubois in their Wembley Stadium rematch to become boxing’s undisputed world heavyweight champion for a second time in 14 months.
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Watching Usyk’s utter brilliance as he dismantled the dangerous Dubois inside five one-sided rounds might have demoralised some rivals, but not the exciting 20-year-old Itauma. Instead of hitting the sack, he hit the road – quite literally – for a midnight run.
When asked why he’d done so, the Chatham, Kent sensation had a very simple answer, one which might define his journey to the top of his sport.
Motivated to be the best
He told BoxNation: “Motivation. Like, it’s very hard for me to see someone doing well and just sit still. Not jealousy, none of that. It’s just the fact that, okay, cool, If Usyk’s at this level, in order for me to be the best I need to do this level. And there’s no way I could have just gone to sleep at night like nothing happened. I’d be kicking myself, I wouldn’t have liked myself when I would have woke up. I would have been like, damn, I should’ve gone for that run.”
In the immediate aftermath of Usyk’s brilliant win, Saudi power broker Turki Alalshikh posted on social media that a Usyk vs Itauma showdown is the fight that boxing wants and needs. So did that motivate Moses to get up and hit the road?
“No, I done this the same thing when Anthony Joshua knocked out Ngannou. I went to the gym and I literally, I was on the bike for two hours. Like, I watched that fight on replay. I was like, the way he done this, I was like, that’s cold. And like, erm, that wasn’t out of jealousy, it’s just a fact that I know that if these guys are working hard – and I know these guys are working hard – I need to work extra hard because I don’t really wanna lose.”
Itauma steps up vs Whyte
Next up for Itauma of course is a massive test of his exciting credentials – a showdown with former world title challenger Dillian Whyte in Riyadh next Saturday night (August 16, live on DAZN PPV).
Moses has been utterly sensational in racing to a 12-0 pro record so far – with 10 of those wins coming inside two rounds. But he has yet to face anybody of the level of ‘The Body Snatcher’ who claimed the WBC interim title before failing in that title challenge against Tyson Fury in 2022.
Whyte is 37 years of age now, and has been relatively inactive since flopping on that big night at Wembley Stadium three years ago. In a few days we will find out just what he has left, and get a much better idea of just how good Itauma really is. Get the popcorn…
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