Moses Itauma: The Future Of The Heavyweight Division

Moses Itauma beat Dillian Whyte by TKO in the 1st round of their scheduled 10-round bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night. Whether or not Itauma’s winning onslaught included a rabbit punch, it was an impressive display. The 20-year-old Itauma has been compared to Mike Tyson, who won the World Heavyweight Championship in 1986, aged 20, against Trevor Berbick.

There has been talk that Itauma may be given a shot at the World Heavyweight title by the end of this year. This, however, may be premature, as Dillian Whyte was the only elite-level boxer he has fought during his short professional career of just over two and a half years. Further, Itauma’s punch resistance has not been tested so far. It is also not known whether he has the durability to last a 12-round fight, having only fought a maximum of 06 rounds in any of his 13 professional fights.

After watching Itauma’s fight against Whyte at ringside, the boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said that he wanted to see Itauma fight “a live, active heavyweight”. You could go further to argue that this fighter should have some name recognition and still be in his prime. There are plenty of such fighters, who will give Itauma some much-needed experience and valuable lessons to learn.

His management team is probably aware that there are heavyweights out there, who are not simply going to roll over and just turn up against Itauma for a payday. They will challenge him, take him to places he has never been before, and even before put Itauma in danger of losing his unbeaten record. He needs bouts with fighters like these, if only to make him understand that not every fight he will have during his career will be as one-sided as the ones he has had up to now.

How many fights Itauma has before he is given a world title shot depends on how he copes with the fights he has after his one against Dillian Whyte. It is arguable that Itauma should be patient and treat his career as a learning curve.

As a young man, he needs the proper guidance, which only his management team can provide. He may be a man in a hurry and want accolades all at once. However, he must curb his impatience. It may seem cruel to say it, but Itauma must learn to crawl before he can walk.

Itauma’s victory against Whyte was a good start. But it was only a start. Itauma has a long way to go before he can say that he is the Real Deal. It is hoped that he stays level-headed during this process and pays scant attention to people who tell him whatever he wants to hear.

To his credit, Itauma said after his fight on Saturday night that he does not deserve a world title shot right now. True fans of Heavyweight boxing should be encouraged by this attitude and hope that he stays as grounded during his journey to the top of the game.

When the time is right, Moses Itauma can then take his opportunity and prove that the boasts made on his behalf that he is the future of the Heavyweight Division were not baseless words, but rooted very much in reality.