Rising heavyweight star Moses Itauma faces his toughest test in Dillian Whyte

By Canadian Press on August 15, 2025.

Rising star Moses Itauma once said he wanted to beat Mike Tyson’s record of becoming the youngest-ever world heavyweight champion.

The 20-year-old southpaw missed that wildly optimistic goal, but there’s still time to join the list ahead of the likes of Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis.

Not too bad if he can pull it off.

Itauma’s priority at the moment, though, is veteran Dillian Whyte. They square off in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on Saturday in a scheduled 10-round bout that could put Itauma in line for a title shot.

“This is the start of greatness,” the Slovakian-born British fighter said.

Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs) has drawn comparisons to both a young Tyson for his power and Oleksandr Usyk for his footwork. His 10 stoppages have come in either the first or second round.

Whyte represents a step up in caliber, though. The Jamaica-born Londoner (31-3, 21 KOs) has fought Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury — losing both times — and has beaten Derek Chisora and Joseph Parker. Now 37 years old, “The Body Snatcher” is a 7-1 underdog, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

“I’m someone that is not supposed to be here, never a great amateur career, no support,” Whyte said at Thursday’s press conference. “I’m a kid from Jamaica who’s been written off many times, meant to be dead before I was in my 20s, but here I am.”

Mind games

Whyte has talked down his chances in the buildup to the fight, but Itauma responded by citing Robert Greene’s best-selling self-help book — which along with Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” has been banned by U.S. prisons.

“There’s a rule in ‘The 48 Laws of Power’ where you play a sheep to catch a wolf. I feel like that’s what Dillian Whyte is doing,” Itauma said.

Whyte responded: “There’s a lot of wolves around here but no sheep.”

Itauma’s promoter, Frank Warrren, said it was difficult to find an opponent.

“A lot of people were avoiding Moses — 20-year-old undefeated prodigy,” he said. “The only man who was willing to take up the gauntlet was the warrior Dillian Whyte. We know he always comes to fight.”

What’s at stake?

There’s a scenario in which Itauma could next fight for the WBO title. Usyk, the undisputed world heavyweight champion, has been ordered to defend the WBO belt against mandatory challenger Parker. If that doesn’t happen, Usyk could relinquish the crown, making Parker the champion to face the No. 1 contender, which is currently Itauma.

Whyte has trimmed down for Saturday’s fight and “understands what’s at stake here,” Buddy McGirt, who is Whyte’s trainer, told DAZN.

“If Dillian loses, it’s over. If Moses loses, he can always come back,” McGirt said. “He can’t be reckless with this kid. He’s athletic, he’s fast, he can punch and more importantly he can fight. We can’t make any mistakes.”

Itauma cautioned that he’s not looking beyond Saturday.

“We’re all heavyweights here — any fight can end at any point, so I’m not delusional,” he said. “I know what threat Dillian Whyte poses, so I’m not overlooking him.”

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AP boxing: https://apnews.com/hub/boxing

Ken Maguire, The Associated Press