Roy Jones Jr thinks there is one heavyweight out there who has too much for Moses Itauma at this stage in his career.
The young Brit is just 21-years-old and has shot through the ranks with a series of increasingly impressive displays. He has fought 14 times in total, with 12 wins coming by knockout, and all but one of them inside the first two rounds, including former world title challengers Dillian Whyte, whom he stopped in the opening two minutes of their fight last year.
Most recently, he beat American Jermaine Franklin inside six rounds, and was the first Brit to do so after both Anthony Joshua and Whyte went the full distance with him when they fought him.
Speaking to Grosvenor Casinos, boxing legend Jones had plenty of praise for Itauma; however, he sounded a note of caution about one opponent he thinks he should avoid.
“Is Moses Itauma the most exciting heavyweight since Mike Tyson? Right now, yes, I think he is. He’s got the explosive punching power that Mike Tyson had; if you can hit them before they hit you, most of the time you’re going to knock them out.
“That’s what Mike did. Mike hit them before they hit him, and he got them out, because he was so explosive. So if he can do that, he will knock out most of the heavyweights, but with Usyk, he’s a little bit hard to hit.”
“Moses gives all the heavyweights a hard time. You can’t say he beats them until you put them in front of them, because you haven’t really seen him get cracked yet, but the only one I see that gives him the biggest problem is Usyk.”
Usyk is a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion and a man who has barely lost a round in his professional career. He holds three of the world title belts while the other, the WBO strap, is being contested by holder Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois next month, so Itauma may target a fight with the winner later in the year.
