HEAVYWEIGHT HISTORY BECKONS

THE HEAVYWEIGHT LANDSCAPE could well experience a seismic shift on Saturday August 29, should Moses Itauma walk away with the bounty following his hugely anticipated showdown with Filip Hrgovic.

The record books would show that the sport has the second youngest world heavyweight champion in history, only behind Mike Tyson, plus also the second youngest British world champion of the modern era. Behind a certain Prince Naseem Hamed.

The facts and stats will be swirling around in overdrive as fight night approaches at The o2, but this isn’t simply a coronation or an inevitable conclusion.

This is a proper fight and, it has to be acknowledged, a significant step up in class for young Moses. He has got it all to do.

Filip is one tough customer. In my opinion he is one of the leading heavyweights in the world, was an excellent amateur and Olympian, plus he has hardly put a foot wrong in the pros.

There was a period of time where his world title aspirations appeared to be hitting a brick wall. He was No.1 with the IBF for so long and nobody seemed willing to fight him.

So his activity was fairly sporadic and not at the level required until he finally found a dance partner in Daniel Dubois. I knew that the timing was right for Daniel, but he had to weather a violent early storm before eventually prevailing when Hrgovic was stopped due to severe cuts.

Painfully, for Hrgovic, after waiting so long for his IBF title shot, the Interim title he lost against Daniel was quickly upgraded to the full version.

The rebuild, with us at Queensberry, has consisted of him completing a British treble. Joe Joyce, then David Adeleye came off second best to the big Croatian, before he got  to spoil Dave Allen’s big homecoming in Doncaster last time out.

So ‘El Animal’ is a man in form and he is not turning up in London to pay homage to a new young King. He views triumph in this fight as his destiny.

But, like it or not, all eyes and most of the focus will be on Moses. This is the fight where he can confirm his status as the most formidable emerging talent in the division.

Like everything in this game, the timing has got to be right. If Moses fulfils our expectations of him, there is no turning back when you reach world title level. For the most part, the fights only get tougher and the demands become greater.

For our little nation it would really be something to be able to celebrate having two world heavyweight champions and it would really serve to turbocharge the popularity of the sport across the country.

Both Daniel and, should he be successful, Moses, have many years ahead of them to create a lasting legacy and the chance to write themselves deeper into the history books.

But first, Moses has got an Animal to tame.