Moses Itauma can snatch the spotlight from the stalled Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury saga and make history this weekend. The 21-year-old faces Filip Hrgovic for the vacant IBF title on Saturday, with victory crowning him the youngest world heavyweight champion in British boxing history.
A record within reach
Itauma has 14 wins from 14 fights since turning professional three years ago. The prospect of breaking Mike Tyson's record as boxing's youngest heavyweight king, set in 1986 at 20 years and 150 days, has passed. But second place would still place Itauma behind Tyson and ahead of ring legends Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali.
World title glory in fight no15 would come quicker than it did for Joshua and Fury. Joshua's crowning moment came in fight no16, aged 26, after dismissing Charles Martin in 2016. Fury was 27 when he outpointed Wladimir Klitschko in the 25th professional bout of his career a year earlier.
Only three heavyweights will have registered a world title victory in fewer fights should Itauma leave with the belt on Saturday: Leon Spinks (eight), James J. Corbett (11) and James J. Jeffries (13), with those last two coming over 125 years ago.
A tougher route than Joshua
For the last decade, Joshua and Fury have stood as boxing's flagbearers in this country, but at 36 and 37 years old respectively, their best years are behind them. Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley have already demonstrated they can fill the void, with Itauma poised to join them on the world title scene.
In Hrgovic, Itauma faces a far greater challenge than Joshua did with Martin. The Croatian, 13 years older than his young opponent, is an elite operator with experience at the highest level, with his only defeat coming against Dubois two years ago.
Itauma's knockout ratio stands at 85.7 per cent, having been taken the distance twice early on in his career. Joshua maintained a 100 per cent knockout ratio until fight no21 when Joseph Parker finally took him the distance.
Credible names on the record
Before his world title inauguration, Joshua beat Dillian Whyte in an engrossing domestic tear-up in December 2015, putting down the Brixton fighter in the seventh round. Itauma fought the same man last summer, albeit a slower, battle-scarred version whose best years were firmly behind him. Still, the young challenger demolished Whyte in one round – far quicker than Joshua and Fury managed, with Fury defending his WBC title with a six-round stoppage in 2022.
Last time out, Itauma became the first man to stop Jermain Franklin, flooring him in a brutal fifth round. Joshua went the distance with the well-schooled American as recently as 2023. In fight no10, Itauma was put in with the veteran Mariusz Wach, who went seven rounds with Fury in their low-key bout in July. Itauma sent him packing in two rounds. There is also a very credible victory over Demsey McKean on his record in fight no9.
A future icon?
After winning Olympic gold in 2012, Joshua became the new hope for British boxing, and the fervour that accompanied his rise to the summit demanded mainstream attention. Comparatively, Itauma's rise has been less high profile, and he does not hold the same level of fame Joshua had at the same stage of his career. Should he deliver the sort of devastating performance expected of him on Saturday, that could all change.
'He's the best young fighter at this stage of his career that I've been involved with. He's so mature, mentally and physically, as a fighter. He's got a tremendous boxing brain and he's very articulate,' Itauma's promoter Frank Warren said this week. 'He's a very smart young man, he's got a very smart brain. He's very level-headed, very humble. But I'll tell you what, he can fight.
'If he comes through, I don't think he'd just be an icon in boxing. He'd be a sporting icon.'
