MosesItauma

WBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight Champion

AT THE AGE of just 19, it has already become clear that Moses Itauma is destined to become a heavyweight great of the sport.

Already the WBO Intercontinental champion, courtesy of a defeat of Ilja Mezencev in May, Itauma subsequently made a successful defence against tough heavyweight campaigner Mariusz Wach in July.

It was not just victory over the experienced Pole that caught the eye, it was the fact that Itauma demolished his most celebrated opponent in just two rounds, effectively announcing himself to the world.

Itauma was already thinking big when he became a member of Queensberry's heavyweight ranks at the beginning of 2023, revealing he had set his heart on beating Mike Tyson’s record of becoming the youngest ever heavyweight world champion.

Itauma had just turned 18 when he made his professional debut at the OVO Arena, Wembley on the undercard of the World Light Heavyweight unified title battle between Artur Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde. He took just 23 seconds to blast out Marcel Bode and he doubled his professional fight tally in Telford with a 35 second demolition of Ramon Ibarra.

Itauma went on to feature at the Copper Box Arena in April 2023 when he took part in his first six-rounder and was extended the full distance by the resolute Kostiantyn Dovbyschenko, although a hand injury sustained early in the fight played a part in the additional ring time.

In the July he again entered into six-round territory when he fought and beat Kevin Nicolas Espindola and banked another 18 minutes worth of experience before, in September, he was back to his old tricks when he demolished Amine Boucetta in just 93 seconds.

He enjoyed a Saudi showcase when he featured on the Fury-Ngannou heavyweight spectacular over in Riyadh, demolishing Istvan Bernath inside one round, doing the same to Michal Boloz and Dan Garber in his subsequent two fights in London.

The Chatham-based heavy won gold at the Schools, Juniors and Youth Europeans and his World gold came recently in November over in Spain. He is a two-time National champion, a Multi-Nation BoxCup winner and unbeaten in 24 fights as an amateur, with only one of them being a split-decision verdict at the age of 11.