
Moses Itauma believes he will become undisputed world heavyweight champion
A 14th consecutive win in the professional ranks for Chatham southpaw Itauma will keep him on track for a world title shot in 2026 and while the 20-year-old does not expect to get all the belts during the next 12 months, he is certain that will be the case one day.
A post shared by Moses ITAUMA (@m.itauma)
'I don't think I'd lose anything from fighting Usyk. If I win, 'wahey', if I lose, I don't think there's any wrongdoings from that, but I don't ever think I'm going to go into a fight and lose,' Itauma reflected, with Saudi boxing chief Turki Al-Alshikh eager to match the pair.
'I do believe that one day in the near future I will be an undisputed world champion, yes. To say by next year? That's a bit mad.
'I want to flip the question. Do you see me fulfilling what Usyk has done baring in mind Usyk is 38 and I'm 20?
'I do believe I may be able to reach that or surpass that one day.
'I definitely recognise Usyk as a modern-day great, but I also want to be a modern-day great.
'Of course, I have to take my hat off to him, probably the best heavyweight for a long time, but I wouldn't say I admire Usyk.
'The only reason is that I don't really like to admire any boxer. I feel like once you put them on a pedestal, you might get a bit starstruck and it won't lead to positions like Moses Itauma boxing Dillian Whyte at 20.
'Drop the 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐠𝐮𝐲 talk' 😳
Moses Itauma explains what @DillianWhyte said to him during the face off 🍿🔥#WhyteItauma | Aug 16th | @ringmagazine | #RiyadhSeason | Live Exclusively on @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/wjt18ZELhe
— Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) August 15, 2025
'Imagine I see Whyte as the same guy I watched on TV when I was 10 and I'm like, 'woah, now I'm in the ring with him.' I don't really have time for that. I need to be locked in.'
Slovakia-born Itauma revealed Whyte's memorable bout with Anthony Joshua in 2015 was one of the first he watched on TV.
Even though Whyte was knocked out, Itauma still had a 'mutual respect' for him and insisted it is a 'big deal' to take him on so young.
Itauma recently missed out on becoming the youngest ever world heavyweight champion after passing the age of Mike Tyson, but does have Floyd Patterson – second in the list at the age of 21 and 10 months – in his sights after Whyte is dealt with.
Youngest
WBO number one contender Itauma added: 'I remember seeing the top six youngest heavyweight champions of the world and I saw Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Floyd Patterson, George Foreman and I can't remember the other name, but I remember the last person was 24-years-old.
'That is four years from now for me and I believe I can be heavyweight champion before that.
'And I can be in and around or in the mix of them great names, but (first) Dillian Whyte.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Dillian Whyte conspiracy theory emerges after Moses Itauma KO
Dillian Whyte was brutally taken apart by Moses Itauma as the pair clashed in Saudi Arabia but a new reason for the former's collapse has potentially been unearthed in the aftermath of the bout Dillian Whyte never expected to last long against Moses Itauma due to a leg injury, according to Sunny Edwards. The 37-year-old clashed with Itauma in Saudi Arabia over the weekend. But the bout lasted less than a round as Itauma dismantled Whyte within two minutes, leaving him sprawled on the canvas before the referee called an end to the proceedings. The Brixton Body Snatcher has yet to publicly respond to his defeat, albeit Edwards has potentially given a reason for the early ending. Taking to Instagram, he revealed that Whyte had picked up a troublesome leg issue before the fight. He wrote: 'Got a call today saying Whyte leg f****** & it's going early. This ring walk ain't convincing me otherwise.' It has not been confirmed whether Whyte was indeed suffering from an injury but boxing promoter Eddie Hearn suggested that he should never have gotten in the ring in the first place. Speaking after the fight, he said: "[I was] very impressed. But I feel very sad for Dillian. He shouldn't have been in there, if I'm being honest. That was the worst matchup for him with no activity. I feel like that was always going to happen. "Knowing Dillian at 38 years old, I found it hard to watch. That was one of the reasons he took the fight. The money was great." Hearn added: "Dillian is brave. He always believes he can win, but we always said those first three or four rounds were going to be horrendous for him. "I didn't expect them to be that horrendous. I just feel the punch resistance [wasn't there]. It was a lot of fast cupping shots on the side of the head, but it wasn't like [huge shots]. "He didn't look good on his feet. And someone as good and as special as Moses, it's going to be really difficult if you can't get through the start." While Whyte seems unlikely to return to the ring, Itauma is going nowhere and feels confident tackling any opponent in the future. Speaking after his victory, he said: "What's next? 'I will fight anyone you put in front of me. If I'm honest, Joseph Parker and Agit Kabayel do deserve a [title] shot, but chuck me in with any of that lot. I'm ranked No. 1 with the WBO, and Parker is also up there, so maybe that can happen. "I'm only 20-year-old so I have got 10 or 15 years left. If I get the opportunity [to fight for a world title], 100 percent I will [be world champion]."


Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
‘He shouldn't have been in there' – Eddie Hearn gives brutally honest view on Dillian Whyte after he's mauled by Itauma
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) EDDIE HEARN insists Dillian Whyte had no business being in the ring with Moses Itauma. The Brixton Body Snatcher was decimated by the 20-year-old prospect in their Saudi showdown in a mere 119 seconds. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Dillian Whyte was decimated by Moses Itauma in their Saudi Arabian showdown on Saturday Credit: GETTY 4 Itauma took out the veteran heavyweight in just under two minutes Credit: REUTERS 4 Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn believes Whyte shouldn't have been in the ring with the undefeated 20-year-old Credit: GETTY Itauma hurt the veteran early doors and sent him hurtling to the canvas with a punishing right hook. Whyte, 37, rose to his feet, but referee Mikael Hook saved him being rendered unconscious by waving off the contest. And Matchroom Boxing chief Hearn insists the former WBC heavyweight title challenger, at this stage of his career, shouldn't have been put against a young and hungry lion in Itauma. In an interview with Boxing News, he said of Itauma's stunning win: "[I was] very impressed. "But I feel very sad for Dillian. He shouldn't have been in there, if I'm being honest. 'That was the worst matchup for him with no activity. I feel like that was always going to happen. "Knowing Dillian at 38 years old, I found it hard to watch. That was one of the reasons he took the fight. The money was great." Hearn expected Whyte to be up against it in the opening rounds but admits he didn't expect him to wilt so quickly. SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN 4 Moses Itauma is now a bona fide player in the heavyweight division after his KO of Dillian Whyte Credit: GETTY He continued: "Dillian is brave. He always believes he can win, but we always said those first three or four rounds were going to be horrendous for him. "I didn't expect them to be that horrendous. Moses Itauma leaves sports psychologist baffled as he reveals boxing is his 'drug' ahead of Dillian Whyte fight 'I just feel the punch resistance [wasn't there]. It was a lot of fast cupping shots on the side of the head, but it wasn't like [huge shots]. "He didn't look good on his feet. "And someone as good and as special as Moses, it's going to be really difficult if you can't get through the start." Itauma well and truly put the heavyweight division on notice with his destruction of Whyte. And the Chatham clubber is willing to take on all comers in the fast-changing division. "But I feel very sad for Dillian. He shouldn't have been in there, if I'm being honest." Eddie Hearn on Dillian Whyte's loss to Moses Itauma He said: "I thank Dillian, it takes two to tangle and he gave me the opportunity to showcase my skills. 'To be honest, for the first two minutes the nerves were there. "But then I saw an opening that I could not miss and I executed the game plan. 'What's next? Honestly, I will fight anyone they put in front of me. 'If I am honest, Joseph Parker and Agit Kabayel deserved their shot, but I would jump in with them lot.'


The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Chelsea v Crystal Palace: Premier League
Update: Date: 2025-08-17T12:00:29.000Z Title: Preamble Content: Happy new season one and all – except for our teams today, the last one never really ended, and for the best possible reasons. Chelsea finished its domestic aspect in form that was just good enough, qualifying for the Champions League and perhaps saving Enzo Maresca's job in the process. After that, though, things really got going. It's easy to say that Chelsea were fitting winners of the first Club World Cup, bringing together, as it did, geopolitics posing as sport, Saudi money, US imperialism, far-right dictatorship, and ersatz, artificial prestige. But it's unlikely the players are giving this any thought, instead captured by their growing sense of mission: an entity that once looked atomised, incoherent and disconnected has since fused into a definitive whole, the team secure in the knowledge that they can out-think, out-play and out-fight the best team in the world in a big final. They will feel invincible. But so too will Palace, their players and manager already legends and the two greatest games in their history the last two they've played. It is not just that they beat Manchester City to win the FA Cup, their first trophy, then Liverpool to win the Community Shield, their second, though they did. It is also that they did both in dramatic, affirming, inspirational manner, delivering a buzz to sustain all involved for the rest of their lives. They will feel invincible. Life being life, though, with triumphs comes pitfalls. By the time Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain in mid-July, their rivals had had a month or so off and already started pre-season, an unhealthy and borderline barbaric state of affairs that will surely exact a toll at some point. The mental and physical stress of elite-level sport is real, not something that can or should be overridden with money, glory and team-spirt. There is a debt to pleasure and in their case it will be fatigue – the only question is when it hits and how they manage it. Palace, meanwhile, are victims of their own success. Eberechi Eze, their best player, looks likely to leave for Spurs, while Marc Guêhi, their captain, could well be off to Liverpool. With under two weeks left in the transfer window, simply replacing them will be difficult, never mind replacing them with players of equivalent ability, and even if that happens, those players will need nurturing and moulding – or, in other words, rather than build on their achievements to get better, it is more likely they are poised get worse. There is a debt to pleasure and in their case it will be pillaging – the only question is how they mitigate it. All of which makes this an absolute banger of an opening-weekend fixture. Bring it on! Kick-off: 2pm BST