LONDON — When Moses Itauma officially turned professional on his 18th birthday in December 2022, the party line was clear: We want to break Mike Tyson’s record and become the youngest world heavyweight champion in history.
That would give the teenager and the decision-makers around him just under 30 months to change a novice, yet to even fight a man, into The Man of the heavyweight division.
But is this too much, too young for a special talent such as Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs)? And what does heavyweight history tell us about pushing young fighters too quickly? We only need to look back to last weekend for the most recent example of a Warren heavyweight project.
London’s Dubois had been a prolific junior boxer, but had just seven senior bouts when he turned professional with Queensberry, eschewing the chance to represent Team GB at the Olympics. There are parallels between Dubois’ early resume and that of Itauma: international opponents, those brought in to (try and) provide some rounds and a couple of better-known names here and there.
There comes a time when any young heavyweight requires a meaningful step-up, particularly in a division as stacked as it currently is. But as Bakole walked him down and beat him up, it was difficult not to think that this was a suspect piece of matchmaking.
Michael Grant is another American who will always be part of the conversation around heavyweights pushed too soon. But Grant, a former college football player, was 27 when he famously wilted against Lennox Lewis, a full seven years older than Itauma at the moment.
After being dropped three times by Lewis in the opening round of their Madison Square Garden encounter, it quickly became apparent that although he was 31-0, Grant had no business being in there. He was knocked out in the closing stages of the second.
On the undercard that night was Wladimir Klitschko, who just 18 months earlier had been knocked out in stunning fashion when he faced Ross Puritty in Kyiv, Ukraine. Klitschko, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist, was just 22 years old and would go on to experience similar stoppage defeats to Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster before emerging as one of the most dominant heavyweight champions in history. The fact is, there is no straight road to success and anything can happen in a heavyweight fight.
Itauma against Whyte (31-3, 21 KOs) does have parallels to another showdown promoted by Warren from the 1990s. His young, hungry heavyweight hotshot at the time was Pele Reid, who arrived at York Hall, Bethnal Green boasting 13 fights, 13 wins, 13 knockouts. The 18-7 Julius Francis, 34 at the time, was the British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion, but was a huge underdog.
However, within three rounds the fight was over, with the more experienced Francis forcing referee Richie Davies to step in and secure what British newspaper The Independent called a “remarkable British heavyweight title win.” Reid was never the same again and got nowhere near the heights many had predicted for him.
The Francis defeat was the first on a three-fight losing streak and he eventually retired in 2009 (20-6-2, 17 KOs). He never boxed in a 12-round fight. What is incredible to think is that, at 26, Reid was still six years older than Itauma’s current age.
Itauma, the Slovakia-born Kent resident, has never lost a fight in his life. In fact, he has barely even lost a round during his time as an amateur or a pro. He has also never given anyone the chance to land on his chin with any force.
They say the last thing to go is your punch and, at 37, Whyte could still knock out just about any heavyweight on the planet should he land correctly. Whether he gets the chance against the quicksilver Itauma is a different matter entirely.
How will he handle a crisis? Only time will tell.
There also comes a time when you have to spin the wheel and move through the levels. History shows that you win some and you lose some, while some return and some fade away. However it goes with Whyte next month will not be the making or breaking of Moses Itauma, but it may provide us a barometer of whether he is more Klitschko, Grant or Reid.
