Moses Itauma is an incredible talent and right now he is putting together an incredible professional career.
But it was not always perfect for the prodigy they call ‘Enriko’ in his rise towards the top of boxing’s heavyweight division.
The 12-0 contender from Chatham in Kent was in a down period and not enjoying the fight game when he linked up with trainer Ben Davison in 2024, and since then the results have been even more spectacular.
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Since the pair started working together Itauma has reeled off four victories – all knockouts and all inside the first two rounds. Quite simply he has been devastating in taking apart every man put in front of him.
Next up Itauma has a major step up in class when he faces former world title challenger Dillian Whyte to headline a major show in Riyadh on Saturday August 16.
Itauma on Davison factor
Ahead of that showdown Itauma spoke in depth about his career so far in a camp feature with broadcaster DAZN (who will stream his clash with Whyte). He was very honest about where he was at when the Davison alliance began.
He said: “Training with Ben has been – it’s been crazy. Because when I first joined the gym, he kept telling me that deep down, you love boxing. And like, at that point in time, I really did feel like I hated boxing.
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“But then, I feel like he kind of, like, lit the fire back up because it’s like, he showed me more to boxing than just throwing one-twos. I mean, punch, punch, get punched. There’s like a whole chess game to this, to this boxing.”
While Itauma is already ranked number 1 by the WBO (World Boxing Organization), putting him on the brink of a world title shot, Davison himself knows that there is still much work to do. It is a significant change of levels for Moses, and his first time topping a major bill.
Big step up for Moses
He admitted: “It’s a big step up. It’s a, it’s a big name, it’s a big occasion – first time headlining. Big Saudi card against somebody that, you know, in my personal opinion, I think this recent era is the best era in the history of British heavyweight boxing. And Dillian’s been a significant part in that, with his rivalry with AJ, he’s boxed [Tyson] Fury and he’s had some great fights with Derek [Chisora].
“He’s been a significant part in that. So, everybody’s looking at Moses as the next one, and the next key figure in the next generation of not just British heavyweights, but world heavyweights.”
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