Boxing legend Prince Naseem Hamed has told BBC Sport that Moses Itauma is "a million times better" than Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. The 52-year-old has backed the 21-year-old heavyweight to surpass the achievements of the two British icons.
Itauma faces Filip Hrgovic for the vacant IBF belt at the O2 Arena on Saturday night. A victory would make him the second youngest heavyweight world champion in history, and potentially the youngest British heavyweight world champion. The Chatham fighter had previously set his sights on beating Mike Tyson's famous record but will settle for the British milestone.
Hamed's Verdict on Itauma's Potential
Despite having just 14 fights to his name, Itauma has been tipped for greatness by the likes of Oleksandr Usyk and Lennox Lewis. Hamed believes Itauma could surpass the respective achievements of Fury and Joshua.
"Moses is on another level to the likes of Tyson Fury and Tyson would say that himself," Hamed told BBC Sport. "Tyson would not want to fight Moses and neither would Joshua. If they did I would say they are very brave."
Hamed added: "I think Tyson Fury was amazing for British boxing and what he achieved, what he did and brought to the game and how colourful he was as a personality. I think Joshua did an amazing job early in his career to win a world title and be an ambassador for British boxing. [But] I can't compare Moses. He is a million times better than them."
Hrgovic's Challenge and Verbal Exchanges
Victory would mean Itauma wins a world title quicker than Joshua, who claimed gold in his 16th professional fight. Hrgovic, an Olympic medalist, has only lost once since turning professional in 2017 - a TKO defeat to Daniel Dubois two years ago.
Hamed believes it should be an easy night for Itauma, stating: "On paper it's a test but I don't think the night that we watch it it will be a test. I think it's going to be one of Moses' easiest nights of his career and he'll win a world title."
As fight night approaches, Hrgovic has branded Itauma 'delusional' and suggested a win would be bad for his soul. Itauma has refused to bite back but admitted the Croatian's remarks are getting under his skin.
"I tell myself there's nothing that this Hrgovic guy can do to get in my head but he's starting to wind me up," Itauma told reporters, including Mirror Fighting, during a media roundtable on Tuesday evening. "In an interview earlier, apparently he said I wake up and I just hug trees. He's really starting to annoy me."
Itauma added: "In my mind if somebody's trying to get one up on you, or trying to get in your head, it's because they're not confident in themselves. Obviously Hrgovic is a talker. Before fights, he's always said certain things – like he did to [Daniel] Dubois when he said he sees big muscles but not big balls. Then you see Dubois, in his mind, is raging. So Hrgovic has always been a talker. It's just because English ain't his first language that people don't pay attention."
