'What next?' - Itauma blows away Whyte in one round
Itauma has shown maturity beyond his years since winning in just 23 seconds on his professional debut in 2023 - and has continued to excel with every step up.Heavyweight rivals Joseph Parker, Derek Chisora and Lawrence Okolie were among those watching at ringside as the rising star put on another statement performance.The Slovakia-born fighter walked first to the ring, despite being the A-side, but was made to wait for more than three minutes - longer than the fight lasted - by Whyte, who delayed his entrance.After throwing a few early feints to get a read on his opponent, Itauma started to unload and quickly found the range for his heavy hands.Whyte was clearly feeling the power and back on the ropes as Itauma picked his shots carefully.A right hook to the temple proved the telling blow and, despite bravely getting back to his feet, Whyte was deemed not fit to continue."How he did it, his temperament, control and composure - he fights better than guys at their peak and he is 20 years of age," Queensberry's Frank Warren, who promotes Itauma, told BBC Radio 5 Live."He did a job on somebody who has been at the best levels,"Despite getting into the shape of his career - weighing the lightest for 10 years - Whyte could not cut it with Itauma and questions linger over what remains at this stage of his career.Itauma's dreams of becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in history ended in May but this victory puts him firmly on track for a title shot in boxing's glamour division in the next 12 months.With Tyson Fury in retirement, Anthony Joshua in the twilight of his career and Daniel Dubois losing his IBF title to Usyk last month, Itauma once again demonstrated he is the great British heavyweight hope in waiting.
'I don't want to call out Usyk'
Itauma has been carefully managed through the first two years of his career and it is unlikely he will be rushed into a fight beyond his means to put all that hard work in jeopardy.Undisputed champion Usyk remains the man to beat, but Itauma is happy to take another step before potentially going up against the two-weight great."I put on a performance for you guys so it's now 'who's next?'," Itauma said."I don't want to call out Usyk because I don't believe I deserve the opportunity, but guys that do deserve the opportunity - I want to fight those lot. "So maybe Agit Kabayel, maybe Joseph Parker. Maybe them type of names."Parker is certainly not afraid to take on a challenge - as he showed by taking on the widely avoided Martin Bakole on just two days' notice and earning a stunning win."[Itauma] is a great talent," Parker told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra."He put on a great display in terms of power, aggression and picking his shots. For a 20 year-old to be under the lights, he took the pressure on."I would love to share the ring with him one day and we probably will."
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