Oleksandr Usyk is clearly the best heavyweight in boxing right now, but there is little doubt that Moses Itauma is the most exciting.
While Usyk (24-0 with 15 wins inside distance) is once again the undisputed champion in the fight game’s marquee weight class, Itauma (12-0 with 10 KOs) absolutely could be the future.
For months the 20-year-old from Chatham in Kent, England has been touted as the next big thing in the sport – notably by his own Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren.
Despite his tender age Itauma is already being talked about in world title terms – he is ranked by all four major sanctioning bodies and sits at #1 in the WBO (World Boxing Organization) latest list.
Itauma is already booked for an absolute blockbuster in his next fight – a genuine stepping stone encounter vs fellow Brit Dillian Whyte in Riyadh on Saturday August 16. But some people are already looking beyond that, and in a big way.
Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority are pumping vast sums of cash into the sport to make dream fights happen, and its Chairman Turki Alalshikh knows which heavyweight encounter he wants to see next.
Usyk vs Itauma is THE FIGHT
In the immediate aftermath of Usyk’s beatdown of Daniel Dubois to become undisputed again, His Excellency took to social media to make it clear that he sees a cross-generation showdown between Usyk and Itauma as the best fight out there.
“I want to see Usyk against Itauma,” tweeted Alalshikh. “This is the fight.”
Nothing talks more than money in the sport of boxing, so if Alalshikh wants Usyk vs Itauma, there has to be at least some sort of chance it happens relatively soon. For now the 38-year-old Usyk will rest up to recover after his Dubois exertions, and plot his next move.
When he spoke after the big showdown at Wembley, he referenced several potential choices for his next opponent – and perhaps unsurprisingly Itauma was not one of them. Top of the last appear to be potential trilogy matches with Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua – both of whom he has already defeated twice.
“Nothing is next,” Usyk said. “It’s enough, next, I don’t know. I want to rest.
“My family, my wife, my children, I want to rest now. Two or three months, I want to just rest.
“[Then] maybe it’s Tyson Fury. Maybe we have three choices: Derek Chisora and Anthony Joshua. Maybe Joseph Parker.
“Listen, I cannot now say because I want to go back home.”
