Moses Itauma has received high praise and higher expectations since he burst onto the heavyweight scene, though his next opponent seems far removed from the kind of fighter Itauma should be facing.
In 2024, Moses Itauma delivered a statement win as he knocked out Mariusz Wach in just two rounds. Despite the former Klitschko-opponent having lost several times before this, Itauma became the quickest man to stop Wach.
Following Itauma’s win over Wach, he faced Demsey McKean, a giant Australian heavyweight who made it to the final seconds against Filip Hrgovic before being stopped.
Itauma breezed through ‘The Tower’, and did in just one round what took ‘El Animal’ Hrgovic 12. After this, fans have called for a higher level of opposition, but those calls have not been met, as Itauma is set to face Mike Balogun.
Mike Balogun has one win since 2022 after a two-round KO loss against former cruiserweight champion
In 2022, Balogun, 19-0, faced 28-8-1 Marcus Oliveira. He won the fight via second-round TKO in what would be his last win before a devastating loss.
In a big step-up, Balogun faced 29-1 Murat Gassiev, who had lost only to Oleksandr Usyk as a cruiserweight. Gassiev didn’t need to get out of first gear against Balogun, stopping him the second round.
Balogun, a former NFL player, waited 378 days before fighting again, this time against 11-20-5 journeyman Lamont Capers. Balogun was unable to stop Capers, but won a comfortable unanimous decision.
Balogun’s record, despite being 21-1, is largely unimpressive, and lends itself to another easy night for the rising Brit as he makes his debut in Scotland.
The fight will take place on the undercard of Josh Taylor vs Ekow Essuman, and a win for Itauma will hopefully lead to a bigger fight next.
Moses Itauma has gone the distance just twice in 11 fights
In his 11 fights, Itauma has eight first-round knockouts, one second-round knockout, and two decision victories.
2023 saw Itauma get back-to-back decision victories against two durable journeymen. First came 9-12-1 Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko.
After that, Itauma faced 7-7 Kevin Espindola, who was coming off a stoppage loss to Frazer Clarke. Itauma beat Espindola and Dovbyshchenko in two shutout point wins.
Espindola has since lost to Richard Riakporhe in his heavyweight debut.
Itauma has welcomed a fight with Daniel Dubois, Hrgovic, and Martin Bakole next.