Moses Itauma is facing a big step-up in levels as he eyes a win over Dillian Whyte this weekend.
Despite Dillian Whyte‘s poor form of late, with wins over poor opponents in Christian Hammer and Ebenezer Tetteh, and stretches of inactivity, he may still prove to be a hurdle that Moses Itauma cannot get over this early in his career.
The Chatham-born fighter is just 20 years old, yet has been touted by many as the next big thing in the heavyweight division. Itauma’s a major favorite to defeat ‘The Bodysnatcher’, even despite Whyte’s impressive weight loss.
A win, though, is never guaranteed, and David Haye has warned Itauma of one thing ahead of the major fight that could make him a household name.
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty ImagesDavid Haye warns Moses Itauma not to underestimate Dillian Whyte like he underestimated Carl Thompson
Ahead of the fight, Whyte likened himself to Carl Thompson, who, at the age of 40, stopped a rising star in David Haye, even when everyone had written Thompson off, believing Haye would make light work of him.
Now the man who was on the receiving end of Thompson’s knockout victory has made the same comparison, warning Itauma not to do what he had done going into the step-up fight.
Haye spoke on his loss to Thompson, stating, “For some reason, I didn’t believe Carl Thompson was going to be able to roll back the years. You know, I thought what I had was enough to get him out in a few rounds.”
The British legend elaborated, suggesting Itauma must not do what he did, “Itauma needs to treat the fight with Dillian as though it’s gonna be the hardest fight of his life. As long as he goes into the fight without any hype, just truly believing in himself and sticking to the game plan, he should be okay.”
The Hayemaker praised Itauma, but expressed some concern ahead of the fight, “I think he’s got all the ingredients you need to be a world champion, for sure. He’s got everything you need, but there are a few unknowns.”
“What’s his stamina like? What’s he like when it gets into rounds seven, eight, nine, and it’s tight, it’s a 50/50 fight, he’s only won half the rounds because Dillian’s stuck it straight on him?”
Itauma is just 12-0, and has gone from a win over Mike Balogun to headlining a PPV card in Riyadh against a man who has shared the ring with Tyson Fury, Joseph Parker, and Anthony Joshua.
Dillian Whyte was victim to a monumental announcement blunder
In the Grand Arrivals for fight week, Whyte fell victim to a huge blunder upon his entrance, as the announcer, Thomas Treiber, mistakenly called him ‘The Babysnatcher’ instead of ‘The Bodysnatcher’.
Whyte had a look of confusion on his face, and later confronted Treiber, who he believed was intentionally messing with him.
Whyte addressed Treiber, asking, “What’s with that man? […] ‘The Babysnatcher’, that’s crazy.”
Treiber apologized, suggesting he had misread what he had written down, and assured Whyte that for the rest of the week he would certainly be announced as ‘The Bodysnatcher.’