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Moses Itauma watched Dillian Whyte a decade ago but now he faces him on next step to top

Moses Itauma takes on Dillian Whyte this weekend as he looks to continue his startling rise in the heavyweight division with his toughest test to date

[Dillian Whyte and Moses Itauma]

Whyte and Itauma face off at press conference(Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Moses Itauma was sitting at home a decade ago as a starry-eyed child watching Anthony Joshua knock out Dillian Whyte in a British heavyweight title fight.

It was the first fight he watched where he knew both boxers. Which perfectly puts into perspective how quickly he has got to this stage as he takes on The Body Snatcher tonight in Saudi Arabia with world title opportunities around the corner.

Itauma, now 20, was a 10-year-old starting to fall in love with boxing as he sat at home and watched Joshua knock out the man he takes on this evening.

The first fight I ever watched live where I knew both the opponents was that one, he said. I would have been 10 years old. And now I'm boxing Dillian Whyte. So I'm living the dream, honestly. I'm not saying that, OK, cool, I've got the Dillian Whyte fight. I'm happy.

That's not how I'm going. I've got this fight. I've an opportunity to showcase my skills and present Moses on display. I won't be happy coming away with anything but a knockout.

[Dillian Whyte takes on Moses Itauma]

Whyte and Itauma is an exciting match up

Whyte has boxed 192 rounds, Itauma just 25. Thats the huge gap in experience. Itauma revealed someone even told him he shouldnt have taken this fight because Whyte is in good shape.

Get out of here, man was the response from the confident Kent-based fighter, who trains under Ben Davison in Essex, and is the favourite tonight owing to him being a boxing prodigy. There is the feeling that the two fighters are going in very different directions.

Whyte has lost three of 34 fights and is now 37 along with a, lets say, chequered-history in regards to doping scandals. Heavy-handed southpaw Itauma is unbeaten in 12 with 10 knockouts and being billed as a potential superstar of the sport.

Yet just under a decade ago he was sitting at home watching the man he will fight tonight. Hes got Frank Warren as promoter, his son Francis as his manager and a sponsorship deal with Nike. Few fighters can claim to have a sportswear deal, certainly at such an age.

Born in Slovakia to a Slovakian mother and Nigerian father, he moved to UK as a kid with his brother, Karol, also a talented boxer. He caught the eye as an amateur. At the European Youths in 2022, he stopped all his opponents to win gold.

[Moses Itauma shadow boxes]

Itauma is a special talent destined for top(Image: Getty Images)

In the same year, two of his four opponents at the world youths didnt hear the final bell as he won them as well. The Warrens would pounce before he got to senior level.

I was a very angry kid, said Itauma. So like if you put an angry kid in a sport like boxing, he's about to do some damage or receive some damage. That's kind of what just happened, it was just like a steady progress through the amateur ranks straight onto the pros, it's never like a kind of, oh it's been an overnight sensation. Although I'm boxing Dillian Whyte now, this is 10, 11 years in the making.

There was an ambition when he turned professional to break Mike Tysons record as the youngest heavyweight champion which stands at 20 years, 4 months and 23 days.

[Dillian Whyte looks on ahead of his Heavyweight fight against Moses Itauma]

Whyte has been in with big names(Image: Getty Images)

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He has missed out on that marker but he can still take second place if he wins one in the next year which would push greats Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis down a spot in the top five fastest.

Saudi boxing boss Turki Alalshikh wants to make Itauma against undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk but those in the British stars camp are more reserved on that. Itauma would take the fight now. He does believe he can emulate the Ukrainian by becoming an undisputed champion but he refused to be in awe of the two-weight ruler.

I don't want to downplay his career because he is like, he is a living legend, said Itauma. But I wouldn't say I admire Usyk. The only reason why I say that is because I don't really like to admire any boxer because I feel like once you put them on the pedestal and you might get a little bit star struck.

Imagine if I see Dillian Whyte as the same guy that I used to watch when I was 10 years old on the TV? I don't really have time for that. I need to be locked in focus and do my thing. I definitely recognise Usyk as a modern day great, but I also want to be a modern-day great.

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