{"id":505106,"date":"2026-03-31T11:45:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T11:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/505106\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T11:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T11:45:09","slug":"moses-itauma-calls-for-stronger-opposition-as-mike-tyson-responds-to-bums-remark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/505106\/","title":{"rendered":"Moses Itauma Calls For Stronger Opposition As Mike Tyson Responds To \u201cBums\u201d Remark"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=boxing247.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" style=\"display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center;&#010;            width:140px; height:40px; overflow:hidden;\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"660\" height=\"208\" alt=\"Add East Side Boxing as a preferred source on Google\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770669047_552_google.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>  <\/a><\/p>\n<p>  <a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEV0p2ZUdsdVp6STBOeTVqYjIwb0FBUAE?ceid=US:en&amp;oc=3&amp;hl=en-US&amp;gl=US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" style=\"display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center;&#010;            width:140px; height:40px; overflow:hidden;\"><br \/>\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"468\" height=\"128\" alt=\"Follow East Side Boxing on Google News\" style=\"height:100%; width:auto; display:block;\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/follow-google-news.png\"\/><br \/>\n  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p>The 21-year-old heavyweight recently stated his goal for the year is \u201ceight quality fights, not eight bums,\u201d a clear attempt to answer critics who feel his opposition hasn\u2019t matched his hype.<\/p>\n<p>Itauma has been wrecking everyone in front of him, usually within two rounds. While his speed and power are undeniable, he has yet to face a fighter capable of firing back. By calling for quality, he is trying to take control of the story and prove he is ready for the deep end of the division.<\/p>\n<p>Tyson, standing alongside him in a clip shared from a recent event, took a different view.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as bums,\u201d Tyson said. \u201cI used to say people were bums until I made a comeback to box in that division and realised there\u2019s no bums.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tyson\u2019s take wasn\u2019t exactly a pat on the back for the young prospect. Instead of agreeing that Itauma needs better names, he challenged the idea that any man stepping into a heavyweight ring is \u201climited.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a division where one punch can end a career, Tyson\u2019s words served as a reminder that arrogance is a liability.<\/p>\n<p>Itauma is looking for a path to the top, but Tyson\u2019s message was a stern warning: every opponent is a threat, and dismissing them is the first step toward an upset.<\/p>\n<p>Heavyweight has a long history of unexpected results, and even fringe contenders carry enough power to change a fight in a moment.<\/p>\n<p>Itauma is now entering that dangerous middle ground where he\u2019s too good for the \u201cgatekeepers\u201d but hasn\u2019t yet shared the ring with the elite. If he maintains this trajectory through 2026, the \u201cmanufactured\u201d label will have to be retired.<\/p>\n<p>Tyson is trying to teach him the \u201cheavyweight tax.\u2019 The reality that you pay dearly if you don\u2019t respect the person across from you. Itauma wants to prove his worth through better matchmaking, but he has to make sure his mental approach doesn\u2019t leave him open to a shock loss before he even reaches those \u201cquality\u201d fights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 21-year-old heavyweight recently stated his goal for the year is \u201ceight quality fights, not eight bums,\u201d a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-505106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505106","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=505106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}