Moses Itauma made his highly-anticipated return to the ring earlier this month as he dispatched of veteran British heavyweight Dillian Whyte in just two minutes.
The 20-year-old from Chatham, Kent produced the most impressive performance of his professional career to date, needing less than one round to defeat his countryman and keep his number one ranking with the WBO intact.
There had been concerns that Whyte may have been a tough test for one of the sports fastest rising stars, but the hard-hitting southpaw wasted no time in getting the job done at the ANB Arena in Riyadh on Saturday night.
Just moments after he was confirmed as the winner, Itauma made a gesture to the fans in attendance to reveal who they would like to see him fight next, with one name in particular being shouted out across the arena – undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Speaking to The Stomping Ground, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn claimed that he wants to see Itauma in with a ‘more active’ opponent than Whyte next, hinting that a potential showdown with Filip Hrgovic could be on the cards.
“Yeah that [Hrgovic] would be a good fight, I just wanna see Moses in with an active heavyweight because he’s easily good enough, I just wanna see him in a proper fight.”
Hearn was then asked if he believes Itauma is ready to face Ukrainian icon Usyk next, based on that performance against Whyte.
“No.”
Usyk became the undisputed heavyweight champion for the second time last month, defeating former IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois in the fifth round of their historic rematch at Wembley Stadium on July 19.
Whilst Itauma could be an option for Usyk next, former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker remains the front runner for the unbeaten 38-year-old.
