Moses Itauma showed once again that he appears to be the future of boxing’s heavyweight division with a blistering performance to blast out Ilja Menzecev on the Fury vs Usyk undercard in Riyadh.
The brilliant 19-year-old phenom from Kent improved to 9-0 with 7 inside distance by destroying German Mezencev inside two rounds.
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Itauma, with trainer of the moment Ben Davison heading up his corner for the first time, also claimed his first professional title in the process by picking up the WBO Intercontinental heavyweight strap.
Round-by-round analysis
Itauma had finished his last four opponents inside a round and he very nearly made it five here.
Moses was quickly on point with two beautiful left hands landing flush inside the first 30 seconds. Mezencev knew he was in at the deep end immediately.
The German gradually built a little confidence with Itauma happy to box on the counter, but he made a huge mistake in the closing seconds. He left himself open to a huge Itauma counter left hand and eventually ended up laid on the ropes as the bell sounded following a brutal flurry from Moses.
That bell was merely a stay of execution for Mezencev (now 25-4), whose night was ended early in Round 2 by another highlight-reel finish from the imperious Itauma.
This time it was a smashing right hand to the temple that decked Mezencev as the German made another mistake moving in.
Mezencev did beat the count but was on the wobbliest of legs and left referee Howard Foster with no option but to call it off.
It was another brutal demolition job from Itauma, who continues to look the absolute real deal. It’s frightening to think the partnership with Davison could develop those incredible skills yet further.
That stated aim of beating Mike Tyson’s record as the youngest ever heavyweight champion (he has just over a year to achieve that) may be ambitious, but it would not be a reach to expect him to be fighting for world titles relatively soon.
Itauma vs Mezenvev results
Itauma wins by TKO after 50 seconds of Round 2.
