Dillian Whyte may break into his signature howl for the final time as Moses Itauma is expected to hand him his most devastating defeat to date.
Moses Itauma will step up in competition and face Dillian Whyte on August 16th in Saudi Arabia.
The 20-year-old prodigy has not faced anyone close to the caliber of Whyte, who has extensive experience at the very top of the division, having shared the ring with Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Joseph Parker.
The fight will see a battle-hardened veteran in Whyte, who likened himself to Carl Thompson before his KO win over David Haye, versus a rising star on a collision course with greatness.
Ahead of the fight, though, Itauma spoke on a missed opportunity he’s been forced to let go of ahead of the fight.
Moses Itauma was unable to break Mike Tyson’s impressive record
Mike Tyson became the youngest world champion in the heavyweight division of all time when he defeated Trevor Berbick in 1986. Tyson was just 20 at the time.
As Itauma slumped his opponents onto the canvas left, right, and center, fans were adamant that this young Brit could be the man to break the record and become the youngest heavyweight champion ever.
After his one-round win over Demsey McKean, there were multiple options to secure a world title shot, though none could fit into the timeline needed, except one.
Whilst Itauma could be skyrocketed into a fight with big names such as Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk, these fights were never feasible, especially at this stage in his career.
A route to the interim title could have been Itauma vs Justis Huni, though Itauma’s campmate, Fabio Wardley, got the opportunity instead.
The other, most direct route, would be Kubrat Pulev. Pulev holds the WBA Regular world title after defeating Mahmoud Charr, and though not a bonafide world title, it would count enough to break Tyson’s record. Pulev was reportedly in talks to face Wardley, though, and priced himself out of the fight.
Ahead of the fight with Whyte, Itauma said of the record, “When I first turned professional, [my goal] was obviously breaking Mike Tyson’s record – youngest heavyweight world champion.”
“We couldn’t do that, so now it’s just step-by-step, fight-by-fight. If you was to ask me what’s my plans in this division, it’s to knock Dillian Whyte out, I guess.”
Moses Itauma must win quicker than Whyte’s rivals to make big statement
With Whyte clearly beyond his prime, Itauma must finish him early to make a real statement.
Whyte has been stopped three times, and even though Itauma is young and inexperienced, to put the heavyweight division on notice he must stop Whyte in a quicker, or at least better fashion than his heavyweight counterparts.
Here are the men who have stopped Whyte, and how long it took them.
2015 – Anthony Joshua – Round 7 – 1:27 – Total time: 19 minutes and 27 seconds
2020 – Alexander Povetkin – Round 5 – 0:30 – Total time: 12 minutes and 30 seconds
2022 – Tyson Fury – Round 6 – 2:59 – Total time: 17 minutes and 59 seconds
Lawrence Okolie predicts Itauma to KO Whyte early, whilst Whyte’s former coach, Mark Tibbs, also sees Itauma beating Whyte.
Though Whyte cannot be written off, August 16th may well be a passing of the torch moment for the heavyweight division’s next big thing.