Moses Itauma is being chased by a heavyweight rival who claims the young Brit has disappeared.
Itauma had a standout year in 2025. The 20-year-old fought just twice, winning both contests to take his unbeaten record to 13 wins, 11 by way of stoppage and nine of them within the first two rounds. The best win of his career to date came in November when he showed his power by knocking down Dillian Whyte in the first round of their fight, then doing so again before the end of the second minute, forcing the referee to stop the contest.
He has been talked about as a future world champion by heavyweight stars like Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk and initially wanted to become a world champion before the age of 20 to beat Mike Tyson’s long-held record.
He is next out in late January when he takes on American Jermaine Franklin in Manchester. Franklin is well known on UK shores, having taken both Anthony Joshua and Whyte the distance in their contests in 2024.
Waiting on the horizon after that, should Itauma win, is Murat Gassiev, who won the WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title with a sixth-round knockout of Kubrat Pulev in Dubai early in December.
The WBA have since ordered Itauma to face the former cruiserweight champion, but Gassiev’s co-promoter Al Siesta has told Sky Sports he hasn’t heard from him.
“There was, of course, an order by the WBA for Moses Itauma to face the winner of Pulev vs Gassiev – with a lot of talk from our friends at Queensberry Promotions – but since Gassiev’s destructive performance, it all seems to have gone quiet. Now, there is talk of Itauma vs Lawrence Okolie.
“For me, this is no coincidence. They would have jumped at the chance to face a 44-year-old Kubrat Pulev, but a prime, heavy-hitter like Murat Gassiev? I know the game and I can see why Frank Warren would not want to put his ‘Golden Boy’ in with Murat. We take it as a compliment!”
If Itauma doesn’t end up taking the fight, Gassiev could instead be a final opponent for Derek Chisora, or someone Anthony Joshua takes on as he continues to rebuild late in his career and head towards what many hope will be a showdown with Fury in 2026.
