Moses Itauma was initially unmoved when hearing that his bout against Filip Hrgovic in London on 29 August had been upgraded to a fight for the vacant IBF world heavyweight title. “I didn’t really have any reaction,” Itauma said on Friday afternoon. “I was like, if I’m fighting Hrgovic and I’ve got the opportunity for it to be a world title, then yeah, chuck it on the line. I didn’t have any other feeling. I was taking Hrgovic serious – and, now the fight is for a world title, I’m still taking him serious. It’s still the same fight, innit?”
But the 21-year-old soon admitted that he is sharply aware of the fact that, should he beat his Croatian rival, he will become the second youngest fighter to become a world heavyweight champion. Mike Tyson made history when, aged 20 years and four months, he won the WBC title after a brutal second round stoppage of Trevor Berbick in November 1986.
Tyson hit Berbick with such force that, after he went down heavily for a second time, the Jamaican veteran reeled across the ring, fell, got up, toppled over, staggered to his feet, and lurched into the opposite corner where he collapsed again.
“I’ve watched that fight, of course,” Itauma said of an iconic moment in heavyweight history. “But Tyson’s had his career. I’m still making my career. Of course I tried to set up a goal to become the youngest [world] heavyweight world champion. I didn’t achieve it, but I landed a fight with Dillian Whyte [a former world title challenger whom Itauma knocked out in less than two minutes last August]. So it’s step by step.”
In his most recent contest, Itauma was seriously impressive again when dispatching Jermaine Franklin in five rounds. Teddy Atlas, the outspoken boxing pundit who helped train Tyson at the outset of his career, was glowing in his assessment of Itauma. “That’s the first heavyweight that actually matches Tyson’s combination of speed and power,” Atlas said. “The difference is how [Itauma] does it. Tyson did it in a very one-dimensional, aggressive way, coming forward, making you miss, making you pay. Itauma? He’s got a lot of options. He’s [multi] dimensional. He can box, he can set traps, he can counterpunch. He can fight inside. He can do a lot of different things. He’s got good intellect. He’s got good technique.”
Itauma was surprised when told of Atlas’s favourable comparison. “Teddy Atlas said that? Really?”
He then responded more wryly, remembering the past animosity between the two men. “Teddy Atlas put a gun to Mike Tyson’s head before, no? I think he just doesn’t like Mike Tyson, so he’s finding a way to dim his light. But Teddy Atlas saying that? I appreciate it.”
After he made history against Berbick 40 years ago Tyson oozed brooding malevolence as he sneered: “I wanted to bust his eardrum. Every punch had bad intentions.”
Asked if he wants to be similarly ferocious against Hrgovic in an attempt to become a star in mainstream sport, Itauma shrugged. “I just had an interview with the BBC, and they asked me: ‘What’s the one thing that people don’t know about Moses Itauma?’ I said I don’t actually want to be under the bright lights. But, with the way I’m going, it looks like I ain’t got no choice.”
Itauma added: “I think I’m learning how to deal with the media. When I first started as a professional, the problem is you’re always talking about what you’re gonna do, and it’s like you haven’t yet proved anything.”
He has already captured the attention of the boxing hardcore – most of whom regard Itauma as the next great heavyweight champion. “I just try to be authentic when I’m on camera and it seems like I’m putting on entertaining fights,” Itauma said. “But I’m not braggadocious. I’m not swaggerdocious. I don’t do anything extraordinary outside the ring. I feel like [his increasing popularity] might be because I come across as myself. I don’t try to be anyone else.”
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Itauma conceded that if he becomes a world champion his fame will intensify. “When I started progressing through my career I saw the negative side of it. I was like: ‘I might not want this.’”
He is now starting to enjoy the adulation – just a little. “I remember before the Franklin fight, when everybody was singing, ‘Oh Moses Itauma’ I just wanted to sit there and listen to it and appreciate it. But it’s hard because I’m in the ring, fighting. You don’t want to be starstruck because obviously you get caught out.”
In a clear warning to himself, Itauma said: “If I don’t get past Hrgovic, there ain’t gonna be no stadium fights or nothing.”
Addressing Hrgovic’s challenge Itauma stressed: “He’s a very good fighter. He’s only had one defeat [against Daniel Dubois] and only lost because of a cut. So he’s solid. Shit, I’m in for a long night. But I’ll be all right.”
Then, in a moment which carried a mild echo of Tyson, Itauma bristled slightly when asked if he was preparing to become world champion by winning on points. “Ah man, nobody comes to watch heavyweights to see two guys go to points. If you’re watching the heavyweight division, you want to see some knockouts.”
