Teddy Atlas believes one of the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 undercard winners has a legitimate shot to break Mike Tyson’s youngest HW champ record.
Moses Itauma is on a Mike Tyson-like run through the heavyweight division just a handful of fights into his career. He most recently knocked out Demsey McKean for the WBA International and Commonwealth Silver heavyweight belts as the co-main event to Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2.
Itauma is 11-0 in his young boxing career with seven-straight knockouts and is quickly approaching Tyson’s previous realm when he became the youngest heavyweight boxing champ ever in 1986. Tyson knocked out Trevor Berbick inside two rounds to become the WBC heavyweight titleholder, a belt he held on to for four years.
According to Tyson’s former coach Teddy Atlas, Itauma presents the greatest threat to Tyson’s age-old record.
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Teddy Atlas likes Moses Itauma to beat Mike Tyson’s youngest HW champ mark
During a recent episode of THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas, Atlas tabbed Moses Itauma to potentially break Tyson’s decades-old record.
“He’s a wonderkid, this is a wonderkid,” Atlas said. “He’s the only heavyweight on the horizon that has a shot…six month window, to break a record. To break Mike Tyson’s record who broke Floyd Patterson’s record to become the youngest heavyweight champ of all-time. Mike Tyson broke Floyd Patterson’s 21 years and how many amount of months, days…but Mike Tyson has the record. He’s got a chance, and he’s got a great promoter [Frank Warren], to break Tyson’s record and become the youngest ever.
“He’s only 11-0 though, Tyson had more fights, but Tyson was on that schedule of fighting once a month, it was crazy. Knocking guys out left and right…but he only has about six months to do it. I don’t think they’re going to rush him, it depends who is there…he’s got the talent, but doesn’t have the experience to fight an Usyk, a Fury, or even with Dubois.”
Itauma would need to capture one of the prestigious heavyweight belts by next summer to rival Tyson’s long-held record. While Itauma hasn’t faced the caliber of competition needed to make a case for a WBC title shot, his team could potentially push him for a chance to shatter Tyson’s youngest-ever accolade.
Moses Itauma is the most hyped heavyweight boxer arguably since Mike Tyson
While Itauma is off to a superb start to his boxing career, he has a long way to go to enter the same realm as Tyson’s various accomplishments in the ring. Tyson most recently returned to the ring against Jake Paul, falling by unanimous decision at 58 years old.
Itauma is regarded by many as one of the best heavyweight prospects since Tyson emerged in the 1980s. With a six-month window to try to break Tyson’s record, Atlas believes Itauma can surpass it if his promoter Frank Warren pushes him on a high-activity output.