Tony Bellew thinks he knows who might give Moses Itauma a tough 12-round fight.
Itauma is yet to go beyond the sixth round in his 11 professional fights. He has beaten two men on points in six-rounders, and has beaten the rest of his other opponents by KO, with nine of them going inside the opening stanza.
Last time out he took on the tough former world title challenger Dillian Whyte, whom he knocked out inside two minutes.
Although the 20-year-old himself has called for a fight with undisputed heavyweight ruler Oleksandr Usyk, his team are keen to build him a little more.
Speaking to Football Blog, Bellew suggested a former Anthony Joshua opponent who he thinks would be the ‘perfect fight’ for Itauma.
“If he wants to take a risk, which I believe it is not a risk, but if you want to take someone for credit and name, I just can’t see past Andy Ruiz Jr. I think it’s the perfect fight for Moses.
“I think Moses bamboozles him. I think he beats him on points. I don’t think he stops Andy Ruiz, he’s got a rock-solid chin. He’s solid. I think they’re the kind of names you want.”
Andy Ruiz shocked the world when he stepped in on short notice and stopped Joshua to become unified world heavyweight champion back in June 2019, before then losing the belts in the immediate rematch six months later.
Since then Ruiz has competed three times, claiming wins over Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz, before being held to a controversial majority decision draw against Jarrell Miller in August 2024.
