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Telegraph
2 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Moses Itauma can be Britain's youngest world champion if he follows this blueprint
Moses Itauma is on course to become not only Britain's youngest heavyweight world champion but the second-youngest of all time, behind Mike Tyson and ahead of Floyd Patterson. That is some company for the 20-year-old from Kent. Enriko 'Moses' Itauma came to Chatham as an eight-year-old from Slovakia. It is still very early days, but like Emma Raducanu in tennis, Luke Littler in darts and Wayne Rooney in football, this fighter is being hailed as a rare talent. They say 'if you're good enough, you're old enough' and Itauma falls into that category. But unlike with the prodigies mentioned, one defeat in boxing wipes out your aura. After just 12 fights, Itauma now steps up a level in opponent and class, headlining a card on Saturday night against the experienced Dillian Whyte in Riyadh. Win convincingly and the match-making will be seen as genius. Lose and the noise acclaiming Itauma's brilliance will disappear. Here is how he can be fast-tracked to the very top... Whyte the acid test Itauma's ascent has been rapid, but this is a high-profile and dangerous challenge against cult-figure Whyte, who may be 37 but is a proud, experienced fighter who has fought for world honours. Whyte has lost to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, yet with 21 knockouts from 31 victories, he has experience and power. Whyte has boxed 192 rounds over 34 fights since 2011. His survival instincts inside and outside the ring are legendary. He has been shot, became a father at 13 and most of his childhood friends are dead or in prison – so it is not hard to see why he insists he is immune to being written off. Whyte also looks in tremendous shape under American trainer Buddy McGirt. Whyte is believed to be earning a purse of about £2m and Itauma's purse is likely similar. The 13th contest of Itauma's fledgling career is his fifth under trainer Ben Davison, with the southpaw winning 10 of his fights so far by knockout. The lack of experience, especially if Itauma is dragged into the trenches, or given a gut punch, could test the young man. Who knew Moses Itauma was a baller too ⚽️ #WhyteItauma | Aug 16th | @ringmagazine | #RiyadhSeason — Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) August 13, 2025 Parker next on the list The fast-track route to a world title would mean defeating Whyte, then perhaps having one fight in between against a top-10 opponent, then potentially fighting Joseph Parker for the World Boxing Organisation crown. Parker is the WBO interim champion, Itauma is ranked No 1 by the WBO, and Oleksandr Usyk holds the belt. There is a huge difference going into this fight with Whyte – whose peak performances were between 2018 and 2021 – than facing Parker, who is ranked No 3 in the world. When could Usyk bout happen? If all the chips are pushed on to the table, Itauma could take the greatest challenge against Usyk next year. But it is a huge gamble. Saudi minister Turki Alalshikh has already said his wish is to see it happen, and if he is prepared to put up the purse, it could be a goer. In reality, conventional wisdom suggests it is too soon. If the great Ukrainian, who will turn 39 in January, can be tempted into it, a shot at perhaps three, if not all, the belts is there for Itauma, who said he would take the fight. 'I've nothing to lose fighting Usyk next year,' Itauma said this week. 'Whatever happens, it would be a win-win for me.' It might also be a win-win for Usyk, who has 24 unbeaten professional fights after 350 amateur bouts, and he might fancy getting Itauma early, before Usyk reaches the age of 40. Moses Itauma shows off his hand speed at today's open workout ⚡ Esports World Cup Fight Week 25 | Aug 16th | LIVE on DAZN 📺 — Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) August 13, 2025 Match-making key on journey to summit Itauma is a very gifted fighter, with an old head on young shoulders. The team around him are very smart. Frank Warren promotes him, while his son, Francis Warren, has managed Itauma from the start. The Warrens are adept at bringing fighters through. Itauma has the potential to become as big a star as Fury or Joshua in this country. Outside the challenges with Whyte, Parker and Usyk, there are several other dance partners in the next few years. Agit Kabayel, the WBC interim champion, Daniel Dubois, Lawrence Okolie, Martin Bakole and perhaps even Joshua. Time will tell. Family left Slovakia over 'race issues' Itauma moved to the UK from Slovakia when he was eight as the son of two immigrants; his father Charles is Nigerian, his mother Martina is Slovakian. He lives in Bromley with his mum and recalls little of his early life but has said 'there were some race issues' in Slovakia and his parents moved for 'greater opportunities'. He is 6ft 4in, weighs 17 and a half stone, has a reach of 79in, bringing a combination of technical excellence, skill, power, composure and self-belief. Even a tinge of arrogance. He had 20 amateur fights, with 10 knockouts. He claimed gold at the European and World Youth Championships before turning professional in 2023. He had seven fights that year, four last year, and has one victory in 2025. So far, Itauma has boxed just 25 rounds in 12 fights. Moses Itauma and Dillian Whyte showing each other respect backstage at the open workout 🤝 Esports World Cup Fight Week 25 | Aug 16th | LIVE on DAZN 📺 — Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) August 13, 2025 Is youngster over-hyped? From the outside, it appears he is being fast-tracked too quickly, but he has been sparring formidable heavyweights Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce – famously when Itauma was 15, straight from school, removing his blazer to step into the ring – Fury and Lawrence Okolie for years. Itauma claimed this week that he contacted Whyte for sparring six years ago – that would have made him 14. Yet his inexperience is a grave concern. Trainer Ben Davison, who oversaw Fury's return from a personal abyss and who has Joshua in the same 'performance centre' in Harlow, is credited by Itauma for stimulating his interest in the sweet science. Davison has opened up Itauma's mind to the physical chess game that boxing can be. Davison told Telegraph Sport he would put Moses 'in with any one of the top 10 heavyweights in the world' right now. History beckons Tyson is the youngest heavyweight champion in history. The American had boxed 74 rounds by the time he fought for a world title against Trevor Berbick at the Las Vegas Hilton in November 1986. It was his 28th fight and he claimed his first belt at 20 years, four months and 22 days old. Three fights later, Tyson was undisputed champion. Over the next nine fights (including victories over Larry Holmes and Frank Bruno) Tyson dominated the sport yet his reign came to a shuddering halt when defeated by long-odds underdog James 'Buster' Douglas in Tokyo in 1990, Tyson's 38th contest. His record as the youngest ever is unlikely to be broken. Itauma will turn 21 on December 28. If he claims a world title by November 2026, he will become the second-youngest heavyweight in history. Patterson is second youngest at 21 years, 10 months. Muhammad Ali is third youngest at 22 years, eight days; George Foreman is fifth at 24 years and 12 days; of the modern heavyweights, Wladimir Klitschko is 10th, at 24 years, six months and 19 days. What happens on Saturday night? The bookmakers have Itauma as the odds-on favourite to win. They think the two fighters are crossing on escalators going in different directions. But there are risks for Itauma. I'm choosing him to triumph by stoppage in the first half of the fight, with fast feet and fast hands winning the exchanges. That said, Whyte cannot be ruled out. There might be a few moments of drama early on, but if Itauma wins spectacularly, the hype train will grow. Lose, and it will be back to the drawing board.
The Guardian
19-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tyrese Haliburton's moment of reflection sheds light on stars' secret struggles
You see it all the time these days. Players with their hands over their mouths at the end of matches, masking even the most banal of pleasantries from prying eyes. Not wanting to say anything that could be reported. Not wanting to let anyone in. A generation or two ago, writers such as Gay Talese would hang out with global stars such as Floyd Patterson and hear the former heavyweight champion call himself a coward, describe how it felt to be knocked out, and even accompany him to his daughter's school to see him confront the bullies who kept lifting up her skirt. And that all happened on the same day. In the modern era, though, few dare risk saying anything, let alone to bare their souls. You can understand their thinking: in a world where abuse on social media has become normalised, why open yourself up further? Even so, it felt refreshing recently to see one of the NBA's biggest stars, Tyrese Haliburton, lift the lid on how it feels when your form deserts you and life turns angsty and dark. 'I was struggling to look at myself in the mirror,' Haliburton told the Athletic. 'I'm struggling to show up to work and get to the gym. I'm trying to avoid coming to work.' It wasn't just that Haliburton had been one of the 12 NBA stars picked for the US Olympic team in Paris last summer, only to barely play after aggravating a hamstring injury. He then also started the NBA season averaging fewer than 15 points in his first nine games. 'I was really trying to run away from what was going on and I think that point was for me to be like: 'Yo, I don't feel like myself. I don't feel all right,'' he said. ''This shit, it's bad.' ' Reading abusive messages on social media, which in the past had fired Haliburton up, only made his anxiety levels worse. 'I think that I just got consumed with the negativity of people talking shit,' he revealed. Haliburton is not everyone's favourite player. But his confessional not only made him more relatable, it also shone a rare light on what may lie behind the ups and downs players go through over a season. Further insights also came this month with a study that investigated 'the frequencies, trajectories and stability of depressive and anxiety symptoms over the course of a competitive season' at the Bundesliga club Hoffenheim. That involved researchers speaking to 204 players, ranging from men's and women's first-team players to the boy's under-12 squad, multiple times during the 2022-23 season to get deeper insights into how symptoms can change over time. The first finding? During the 10 months of the season, several players reported experiencing depressive (12.7%) and anxiety symptoms (15.6%), exceeding clinical thresholds at least once. That, in other words, could be two or three players on average in a squad. The research team, led by the former player Lina Burger, who is now a psychologist at the club, also found that levels of depression – characterised by a persistently low mood and the loss of pleasure and interest for a period of at least 14 days – were lowest in preseason 'after which symptoms increased and remained relatively stable at a higher level throughout the season. Overall, the linear increase in depressive symptoms suggests a draining effect of a soccer season on the psychological health of players.' Again, that is not a huge surprise. But, as the researchers point out, it is something that clubs can do better to understand and prepare for. What about anxiety levels among players? Well, they tended to be stable until the winter break but then went up. That, researchers speculated, was probably due to matches mattering more towards the end of the season as well as players fearing they might be transferred out or let go. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Another interesting finding? Female players reported higher depression scores than male participants. Part of that might be because female football in Germany generally has lower levels of professionalism, with many players also having to work during the week to make ends meet while getting less psychological support. However, the researchers also note other studies have found that women in elite sport do suffer more from depression and anxiety. One large study among high-level French athletes in 2011, for instance, found 20.2% of women had at least one psychopathology, against 15.1% in men. Ultimately, the study found that footballers experience mental health disorders at rates comparable with the rest of the population. However, the researchers also note: 'The common external observation that they appear 'mentally strong', for example, when calmly scoring a penalty-kick goal, should not be equated with psychological health.' The researchers noted, too, that playing in team sports seems to have a preventive effect. Intriguingly, professional athletes in team ball sports have a significantly lower prevalence (8.1%) of depressive disorders compared with those in aesthetic and target sports (16% of athletes). Yet the lowest levels, intriguingly, are among athletes doing high-risk sports (about 3%). As for Haliburton? Well since struggling earlier in the season, he has turned things around. And on Thursday his Indiana Pacers team open their Eastern Conference final against the New York Knicks with a legitimate shot of making the NBA finals. Perhaps there is a message in there somewhere. Opening up is not necessarily a bad thing.
