Young phenom Moses Itauma obliterated Demsey McKean in one round.
THE MOUNTAIN OF SUPERLATIVES ALREADY ATTACHED TO MOSES ITAUMA HAS SOME WONDERING IF HE ’ S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, BUT THOSE CLOSEST TO THE HEAVYWEIGHT PHENOM PROMISE HE ’ LL LIVE UP TO THE HYPE By Adam Smith
R ight on the ring apron, virtually touching the canvas and directly opposite Turki Alalshikh, was surely the most fortunate place to find myself for the hors d’oeuvre ahead of Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury 2. All eyes were laser-focused on the most precocious prodigy of the new wave of heavyweights who are fast filling Alalshikh’s magic mixer. Moses Itauma is the finest prospect in boxing. Period.
Don’t ask me. Just listen to every fighter who has felt his fast fists and struggled with his extraordinary judgment of distance. Fury, Daniel Dubois, Anthony Joshua – all serious admirers; rare to have so many rivals raving about enemy fire. Dangerous too if you are in Itauma’s way. Joe Joyce and Lawrence Okolie were also most impressed when they shared a ring with Moses – and that was when he was still at school. As an amateur, Itauma never lost. He beat everyone put in
front of him. 24 fights, 24 victories. Many great boxers have of course had much deeper and largely undefeated amateur records – Vasiliy Lomachenko, with his purported 396 wins and one solitary loss, springs to mind. Obviously beyond real comprehension. Moses never went too far and wide, but multiple medals were achieved before he turned down an Olympic spot to
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