Moses Itauma is already eyeing up his next move after extending his unbeaten record to 12-0.
The 20-year-old from Kent knocked out 41-year-old American Mike Balogun in the second round of their bout at the OVO Hydro Arena in Glasgow on May 24 to continue his impressive run of form.
It was Itauma’s first ring appearance of 2025, with his last outing coming against Australia’s Demsey McKean, who he stopped in the opening round of their showdown on the undercard of the [tagg]Oleksandr Usyk[/tag] vs. Tyson Fury rematch in December.
As he prepares for what could be a busy end to the year, Itauma’s team has made it clear he is ready for a bout against the highly rated Martin Bakole, who has been regarded as the ‘boogeyman’ of the heavyweight division in recent years.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Bakole praised how well Itauma is progressing as a heavyweight contender, but feels he would be making a ‘big mistake’ for pursuing a showdown with him.
“He done well tonight, good luck to him, well done for tonight, I know he’s got a good future in front of him but he has a long way to go, to put Martin Bakole’s name in his mouth is a big mistake, even Frank Warren knows that I’m not his level to be honest.”
Bakole’s reputation has taken a hit following a debatable split decision draw against African rival Efe Ajagba in Riyadh on May 3, just months after he was stopped by Joseph Parker in the second round of their bout.
The fight with Parker came after he was drafted in as a last minute replacement for Daniel Dubois, who was originally pencilled in to face Parker in a defence of his IBF world heavyweight title.
Bakole’s side say there is a big fight coming soon and will happily face Itauma, who will return in July on the undercard of Dubois vs Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley Stadium, thereafter.
