A fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma has been speculated over the last week.
Usyk is the current undisputed heavyweight champion, having achieved that honour for the second time last month when he knocked out Daniel Dubois inside five rounds at Wembley Stadium to re-capture the IBF belt and hold all four world titles.
A fight against Joseph Parker was expected to come next, but some fans have began to speculate that rising star Itauma could jump the queue and be the next man to face the Ukrainian.
Itauma extended his undefeated record to 13-0 with a first round knockout victory over Dillian Whyte in Saudi Arabia last weekend, with now 11 of his victories coming by way of stoppage.
The 20-year-old said himself in his post-fight interview that he feels he would be ready to face Usyk next, and the undisputed champion told BoxNation that he agrees with that sentiment.
“Great man, great fight. I think Itauma is the future for boxing, I like this guy. Yeah definitely [He’s ready for me].”
The Ukrainian’s team manager Sergey Lapin disagrees though, as he has told Boxing King Media that Itauma needs to win more fights first.
“I think this is not good for Moses. A nice last fight [against Whyte], but Moses needs more fights against top guys. Maybe Kabayel, maybe Parker. Moses has more options for fights. His first big opponent was Dillian. We have Fabio Wardley, we have Bakhodir Jalolov. Lots of guys.”
Kabayel and Parker are both on the cusp of world title shots, with Lapin also recently revealing that Parker is still the current frontrunner for the fight against Usyk.
