Tony Bellew has been honest with his views of young Moses Itauma’s chances against the veteran heavyweight Dillian Whyte.
The pair face each other on August 16 and are at different ends of their careers. Itauma is 20-years-old, has won 10 of his 12 fights by KO, including three wins inside the first two rounds over Demsey McKean, Mariusz Wach and Mike Balogun in his most recent outings.
Whyte has struggled to get back to the form that once saw him beat the likes of Joseph Parker, Derek Chisora and Alexander Povetkin. He has fought just twice in three years after being away from the sport while attempting to prove his innocence after he tested positive for a banned substance that was later put down to a contaminated supplement.
Speaking to iFL TV, former cruiserweight world champion Bellew suggested that Whyte could have a hard night ahead of him and predicts an early finish for Itauma.
“I think it’s over inside four rounds. I don’t know why I think that because Dillian hasn’t showed… well he has shown signs. The Tetteh fight was not very good. A man is only as good as his last fight, and you’ve got to judge him on that.
*I think Dillian Whyte is a really good fighter and he was a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division, but I think every fighter has a window and I think his window has passed, which I’m sorry for. It’s a shame, he’s beat some really good fighters and he’s been in some really hard scraps but he’s shown he’s worse for wear for them scraps now.”
It’s true that this is a crossroads fight for Whyte. A win puts him back in contention for some huge nights and a potential run at a world title. A loss leaves him out in the cold as something of a gatekeeper for the next generation.
