How Dillian Whyte’s Stamina Could Neutralize Moses Itauma’s Power

Heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic believes Dilliam Whyte can cause an upset of the untested 20-year-old Moses Itauma if he can get through the early onslaught to drag him into the later rounds.

Moses Itauma’s Lack of Experience

Whyte is easily the best fighter that Itauma has ever fought in the pros and amateurs. Unlike fighters that come from deep amateur backgrounds, Itauma is a complete novice. His amateur brief, matches against opposition that were nowhere near the top.

The top amateur super heavyweights during Itauma’s time in the amateurs;

• Bakhodir Jalolov: Uzbekistan
• Richard Torrez Jr: U.S
• Lenier Pero: Cuba
• Mahammad Abdullayev: Azerbaijan
• Kamshybek Kunkabayev: Kazakhstan
• Ayoub Ghadfa: Spain

Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs) hasn’t fought a live body in his short two-year pro career, and the last decent amateur he fought before turning professional was in 2022 against Stylianos Roulias. Of the fighters Itauma fought in his brief time in the amateur ranks, Roulias was easily the best. However, he wasn’t one of the top super heavyweights.

Itauma looked like a deer being chased by a wolf against Roulias. He was not happy fighting someone who had decent power, and wasn’t intimidated by his potshots. Looking at that fight, Itauma looked nowhere near the level of the top world-level amateurs, like Jalolov, Torrez, Pero, and Kunkabayev. He was just a simple, low-output fighter.

“Can he win? Why not? I think if he endures the first few rounds and doesn’t get caught, he can put him in deep water,” said Filip Hrgovic to Ring Magazine about his belief that Dillian Whyte can defeat Moses Itauma if he drags him into the later rounds.

Itauma’s Knockout-Focused Style

Hrgovic is right. Itauma scores his knockouts early, loading up on single shots, trying to score one-punch knockouts. He’s always fought that way. He doesn’t stay in the trenches and brawl like Mike Tyson, who some fans foolishly compare him to. Iauma fights nothing like ‘Iron’ Mike did. It’s all single shots. So, if Whyte can last until the second half of the fight, he can tire out Itauma, break him down to score a knockout.

Unlike his brother, Karol Itauma, Moses carries a lot of flab around the sides of his midsection. He’s got those Fury-esque saddlebags that seem resistant to training. That weight will be an anchor for him in the second half of the fight when the pace and the pressure from Whyte begin to wear on him.

This fight awakens the spirit in Whyte, knowing that he’s being counted out by fans, and expected to be knocked out. You have to go back to Whyte’s fights with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, where he was doubted. Even then, he wasn’t counted out like he is now.