Two minutes, or to be more precise, 119 seconds was enough for Moses Itauma (13-0, 11KO) to ratify, once again, that at 20 years old he is the new sensation of the heavyweight division. The British fighter – although born in Slovakia – achieved his eighth victory in the first round of a fight. His victim, Dillian Whyte, 37, suffered the barrage of punches that his opponent gave him shortly after the bell rang in Riyadh.
Itauma’s attack was unleashed with a succession of blows that sent Whyte against the ropes. There, leaning as best he could so as not to fall, he received a right hand to the temple that made him stagger against the corner. Itauma realized his opponent’s weakness. He went after him and, with another combination of blows, knocked him to the canvas. Whyte got up as best he could, but when he went down on his knees again in the corner, the referee called the fight over. Ituama retained the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Intercontinental title. “This kid is special. He doesn’t get nervous, he hits hard and he has a huge future,” Whyte admitted.
Whyte had presented himself as Itauma’s most serious opponent to date, but succumbed almost as he did when he was knocked out by Tyson Fury in April 2022 for the World Boxing Council title. “I knew it was my exam and I passed it. It was time to take a step up,” Ituama said after the victory.
Moses Itauma was born in December 2004 in Kent, England, to a family with Samoan and Slovakian roots. He excelled in amateur boxing, where he won European youth titles. He was a world youth champion in La Nucia (2022). He turned professional in 2023. In a year and a half he has accumulated convincing victories.
His name is already sounding as a future rival of Oleksandr Usyk. It is the dream of Turki Alalshikh, the man behind the Riyadh Season. “The best against the future,” he said.
“I absolutely believe he can be world champion before the end of the year. We’re well positioned in the rankings and I think he’s ready for the big names, including Usyk,” said Francis Warren, son of Itauma’s promoter Frank Warren. Mike Tyson is the youngest heavyweight champion in history. He achieved it when he was 20 years, four months and 21 days old.
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