'Next Mike Tyson': Moses Itauma out to justify the hype against Dillian Whyte in Riyadh

Rising star of heavyweight division ready for step up in class against veteran contender

Moses Itauma stopped Demsey McKean in the first round at Kingdom Arena last December. Getty Images

Moses Itauma is so widely considered to be the future of heavyweight boxing that even his upcoming opponent has described him as “the next Mike Tyson”.

Itauma, 20, has swiftly and stylishly amassed a 12-0 professional record with 10 wins inside the distance – seven of those inside a round.

The Slovakian-born British fighter moves like a middleweight and his speed and ferocious punching have earned rave reviews and comparisons with Brooklyn's “Iron Mike”.

For a while, it was suggested that Itauma even stood a chance of breaking Tyson's record as the youngest heavyweight champion of all time. That possibility has since passed, with him now a few months older than Tyson was when he knocked out Trevor Berbick for the gold in November 1986.

Talk of titles might seem premature for such an inexperienced fighter, but not in the eyes of Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi power broker now de facto running professional boxing.

After Oleksandr Usyk knocked out Daniel Dubois to become undisputed champion for a second time last month, and as analysts and pundits weighed the merits of Joseph Parker and Agit Kabayel as potential opponents, Alalshikh tweeted out: “I want to see Usyk against Itauma. This is the fight.”

Those guiding Itauma would likely concede that facing Usyk would be a step too far at this nascent stage of his career, but there is no question that he is being moved faster than the average contender.

The next stop on that journey comes in Saudi Arabia this Saturday when Itauma faces former world title challenger Dillian Whyte at the ANB Arena.

It will be Itauma's fourth trip to Riyadh having previously featured on undercards in the kingdom. His record in Saudi so far reads: three wins, three knockouts, a little less than four rounds boxed.

This time he is the main attraction in what is being billed as a step up in class. Whyte has boxed 192 rounds as a pro compared to his young opponent's 25.

But Itauma said: “I’m going in there and I’m doing a job. It’s just like, this job’s harder than the others.

“So I don’t really see all that extra pressure and all that, what not, outside the ring. He’s definitely the best boxer I’m going to box, as in officially. But I am confident going into this fight.”

Usyk has previously stated he has only two fights left with the first of those, in theory, being his July win over Dubois.

Should common sense prevail and Itauma be kept away from Usyk then he will be in prime position to capitalise when the heavyweight belts fragment in the void created by his retirement.

And with Usyk, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury all on their way out of the sport, there is plenty of room for a new star to emerge. As is the case with all prospects, the jury will be out until adversity has been tasted and overcome. That may come this weekend, it may remain in the post.

Usyk himself has been full of praise for Itauma, and while the Kent fighter says he usually “blocks out” the compliments, he said it was different coming from the Ukrainian great.

“When [Usyk] says something like that, that really caught my attention, only because he has done absolutely everything you can in this sport … so for him to say that is very big and I appreciate Usyk and I'm definitely a fan of his,” Itauma told Sky Sports.

“But him saying that, that's big. That actually means something. Because he knows. He knows the talent. It takes talent to see talent and I think he knows.”

Whyte (31-3) has some notable wins and once fought Tyson Fury for the title before inactivity, a drugs ban and some poor performances led to him being relegated to gatekeeper for Itauma.

The 37-year-old describes it as them trying to “feed the old wolf to the young wolf”.

But while accepting he is up against a formidable emerging talent, he says he has nothing to lose and warned that he still has enough in the tank to derail the Itauma hype train.

“These last few years have taught me that this is what I do, this is what I love doing and I need to take advantage of it, focus on it and appreciate it. Here today, gone tomorrow,” Whyte said.

“Today Moses is the next Mike Tyson. He is great, amazing and they talk about him fighting Usyk. I go in there, he does his thing, I catch him and blow him up. Then what? People say he’s not good any more?

“My mindset is no one wants to fight Moses, he is a great fighter, young, sharp and full of beans but you have to believe in yourself and take risks.

“That is what my life is all about. Showing people, my family and my kids, and people in general, you have to take risks to get to places.

“I ain’t got nothing to lose. What have I got to lose? I’m a nobody. I’m being compared to a journeyman in the 90s and 80s, he is being compared to Mike Tyson.”