Moses Itauma is just a few steps away from greatness as he takes his first big step-up against Dillian Whyte on Saturday.
Moses Itauma could become the second-youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history if his first step to glory against Dillian Whyte goes to plan on Saturday night.
Itauma laments not beating Mike Tyson’s record, but he could still one-up Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, and a host of other heavyweights with a dominant world title win.
In his way is ‘The Bodysnatcher’, who, despite being ruled out by many, has come in fighting shape and is determined to cause the upset against the rising phenom.
A win over Whyte puts Itauma in good standing to face Joseph Parker for a world title in his very next fight, provided Oleksandr Usyk relinquishes the WBO belt.
Parker’s coach, Andy Lee, detailed a spar between Itauma and Parker that happened well before their names were ever in the same sentence.
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty ImagesMoses Itauma and Joseph Parker went to war in slugfest sparring sessions
In late 2023/early 2024, Parker was preparing to follow up his big win over Deontay Wilder with a win over ‘Big Bang’ Zhilei Zhang.
He got his win, despite being dropped twice, and continued his fairytale career resurgence.
The win, though, was in part the result of some brutal spars the Kiwi shared with the emerging talent in Itauma.
Lee details the spars, stating, “They were tough spars. Tough… They went to war basically, for four rounds. Four rounds Moses was in were a war.”
The landscape of boxing is ever changing, and in a bizarre turn of events, Itauma could defeat one of the only men to hand Parker a loss in Whyte this Saturday.
The former sparring partners could then become enemies, as Itauma’s number one WBO status could mean a fight with Parker next.
He must first get past ‘The Bodysnatcher’ though, which is not a sure thing, especially with Whyte’s dramatic weight loss.
Moses Itauma could ruin Joseph Parker’s fairytale career
With Daniel Dubois now trying and failing twice to defeat Usyk, most recently for his undisputed titles, Joseph Parker is surely next in line, with many believing he’s more than earned his shot after wins over Wilder, Zhang, and Martin Bakole.
Parker’s career has seen a fairytale resurgence since he joined forces with Andy Lee, and he is now a far cry from the man who lost to Dillian Whyte, Anthony Joshua, and Joe Joyce.
Ahead of his fight with Whyte, it’s worth comparing Itauma and Parker to see just how much of a chance either man has against the other.
Moses ItaumaJoseph ParkerRecord12-036-3Best winDemsey McKeanZhilei Zhang/Deontay WilderHeight & reach6’4.5″ & 79″6’4″ & 76″Weight in last fight254lbs267lbsAge2033
The New Zealander holds the WBO interim title, though his success could all come crashing down if Itauma is truly as good as he is touted to be.