Moses Itauma is emerging as the next big thing in heavyweight boxing. This is the accelerator he and the boxing world have been waiting for—a proper test of his heavyweight credentials.
The proposed August date with Filip Hrgovic is the step up that will expose any gaps in his education, assuming there are any. Hrgovic has only one defeat on his record, a cuts stoppage two years ago against Daniel Dubois in a world title eliminator. He was a world class amateur, adding Olympic bronze in 2018 to European and World Junior gold.
I have made plain my admiration for Itauma. At just 21 he is arguably the most promising prospect in the world, capable of generating the same kind of terrifying excitement in the heavyweight division as Mike Tyson did a generation ago.
The question you always ask of KO artists who blow everyone away is what happens when someone takes all they have and fires back. Hrgovic could be that guy, a rugged, experienced opponent with a great chin who knows how to negotiate a crisis. He got off the floor to beat Zhilie Zhang and forced Dubois to suck it up in the early rounds before the worsening cuts slowed his momentum.
When Itauma sparred Dubois early in his pro career it was a very competitive session. He was tired but coped well. That told me he was made of the right stuff. He didn’t mind being pushed hard. He has a different kind of power to Dubois. He is more explosive, faster than Dubois, who relies on those heavy hands.
Itauma is more instinctive, and nasty with it. He wants to take your head off. Despite his size he moves like a super-middleweight. There is nothing awkward about him. His shots have an elegant quality, a rare purity. Plus he is a southpaw which means he hits from different angles.
What he doesn’t have is experience, which is why this is a fantastic test, effectively punching his ticket to challenge for a world title. Hrgovic bounced back impressively after Dubois with points wins over Joe Joyce and David Adeleye before stopping Dave Allen in three last time out. It would be a real feather in Itauma’s cap to stop Hrgovic, the question is when. If he is taken into the later rounds so much the better for his own confidence and his handlers.
I sensed the moment he walked through our gym doors with his old amateur coach that Itauma had an aura about him. And when I saw him spar I knew he was special. Every heavyweight in the world is watching him now and none will relish facing him.
