The Rise And Potential Fall Of Moses Itauma: Dillian Whyte’s Mission To Unmask A “Hype Job”

Dillian Whyte is amused that fans and the media view him as mere “cannon fodder” in his headliner fight against the #1 ranked WBO heavyweight contender Moses Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs) this Saturday, August 16th, in Riyadh.

Exposing the Hype Job

No one is giving the seasoned veteran Whyte (31-3, 23 KOs) much chance of defeating the 20-year-old Itauma, even though the young upstart fought exclusively woeful competition at the amateur and pro level.

Usually, fans with critical thinking ability would see this and point out that they’re being tricked. So, it’s up to Dillian to put the spotlight on Itauma to show the world what he is: a hype job. 

“In their eyes, he’s a killer. I’m nothing. I’m just cannon fodder,” said Dillian Whyte to talkSport Boxing about his fight against the heavily hyped but totally unproven 20-year-old Moses Itauma on Saturday night.

Whyte shouldn’t get done on himself. Fans are uninformed, casuals for the most part, and have the herd mentality. In the UK, people are desperate to find a replacement for the outgoing Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, and they’re willing to latch onto any fighter that a clever promoter creates with weak matchmaking.

A Fool’s Gold Fighter

Moses Itauma is the latest. If he’s not exposed on Saturday as phoney fool’s gold, he will as soon as he’s matched against someone good. However, given how he’s being matched against the food for the powder, it might take a while.

“You guys are the experts. You guys say how great he is,” said Dillian about Itauma. “I’ve seen Moses fight.”

Well, of course, Whyte has watched Moses Itauma fight. That was a silly question asked of him. The way that UK media are shoving Itauma down the public’s throats without him having fought anyone, labeling him the next Mike Tyson, how could Dillian not have seen him?

Itauma’s Weak Matchmaking

A better question would have been, ‘Do you think Itauma is a hype job?’ It seems so obvious that he is. The way Moses has been matched is similar to how other fighters from his same promotional stable have been matched, guys like Nick Ball and Hamzah Sheeraz.

Those fighters have been matched weakly as well, built up inflated unbeaten records, and now Moses Itauma is getting similar treatment. Fans are too naive to recognize a trend in the matchmaking process. It’s smoke and mirrors, marketing 101 on how to create pseudo products to sell to the public. What looks like gold really isn’t.