{"id":221725,"date":"2025-10-24T03:11:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T03:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/221725\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T03:11:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T03:11:13","slug":"fight-moses-itauma-or-give-up-the-belts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/221725\/","title":{"rendered":"Fight Moses Itauma Or Give Up The Belts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Promoter Frank Warren says Oleksandr Usyk will have to fight #1-ranked WBA and #1 WBO contender Moses Itauma or vacate the belts. He was asked for his reaction to the undisputed heavyweight champion Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) saying he won\u2019t fight Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs).<\/p>\n

Sanctioning Bodies Closing In<\/p>\n

Warren points out that if the WBA or WBO orders the fight, Usyk will have to choose between defending against Itauma or giving up one of the titles.<\/p>\n

Itauma\u2019s Fast-Track Rise<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t look like the 20-year-old Itauma will lose to anyone anytime soon, especially with the careful manner in which he\u2019s being matched. He\u2019s not being thrown in with any of the killers, like Frank Sanchez, where he could get exposed. So, it\u2019s only a matter of time before Usyk, 38, is forced to defend against Itauma or vacate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Moses is #1 in two of the governing bodies. And if they call for that, he\u2019ll have to think about that one,\u201d said promoter Frank Warren to BoxNation<\/a>, reacting to undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk saying he won\u2019t fight Moses Itauma.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to make Usyk look weak if he vacates one of his titles to avoid the 20-year-old Itauma. He\u2019ll need to give that some thought before he makes the choice. For Warren, it would look better if he had Itauma tested first against Frank Sanchez before maneuvering him into a title fight against Usyk.<\/p>\n

Testing the \u201cHype Job\u201d Theory<\/p>\n

Given Moses Itauma\u2019s weak resume, both in the amateurs and the pros, he looks like a classic example of an artificially maneuvered fighter. He hasn\u2019t been given any real tests to justify his being moved to #1. Fighters like Sanchez, Richard Torrez Jr., and Filip Hrgovic would be the ideal opponents for Itauma to show that he\u2019s not a fake hype job.<\/p>\n

Vacate or Validate<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they call for one of those fights, Moses keeps winning, and stays where he\u2019s at, then he\u2019ll [Usyk] have to fight him or he\u2019ll have to vacate the belt,\u201d said Warren about Usym being put in a position where he\u2019ll have no choice but to defend against Itauma or give up his WBA or WBO titles.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that\u2019s been asked of him, he\u2019s done. Oleksandr is a great fighter, and he has four belts. He\u2019ll do what he feels he wants to do, right? Good luck to him,\u201d said Warren.<\/p>\n

Usyk\u2019s Fading Options<\/p>\n

If Usyk is serious about staying in the game for another three years until he\u2019s 41, he\u2019ll have no choice but to fight Moses Itauma. He\u2019s quickly running out of marketable options for fights that will keep bringing in the money he\u2019s been making recently. These are what\u2019s left for Usyk to make mega-millions:<\/p>\n

Tyson Fury \u2013 trilogy
\nMoses Itauma
\nFabio Wardley
\nJoseph Parker
\nAnthony Joshua \u2013 trilogy
\nJai Opetaia
\nDavid Benavidez<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/p>\n

Tom Galm has covered the global boxing scene since 2014, specializing in heavyweight analysis, business trends, and fighter psychology.<\/p>\n

Boxing News 24<\/a> \u00bb Moses Itauma<\/a> \u00bb Oleksandr Usyk Told He Must Defend Against Moses Itauma or Surrender His Belts, Says Frank Warren<\/p>\n

Last Updated on 10\/23\/2025 \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Promoter Frank Warren says Oleksandr Usyk will have to fight #1-ranked WBA and #1 WBO contender Moses Itauma…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-221725","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}