Generational talents need generational challenges to prove they are so. Thus why Moses Itauma, in an ideal world, be allowed to face the established champion, Oleksandr Usyk, in a true battle of the ages.
As painful as it is to see an old king taken apart by the young heir, it’s the cleanest way of progressing from one era to the next. And should Usyk win, well, what a legacy he leaves behind.
Joe Louis losing to Rocky Marciano in the 1950s, though a somewhat harrowing end to a great career, allowed the public to focus purely on the present. Likewise, when Muhammad Ali, after retiring as champion in 1978, saw the torch dragged from his grasp by Larry Holmes in 1980, it forced the boxing world into a new decade.
Holmes himself experienced a similar fate in 1988 when Mike Tyson took the old-timer apart in four rounds. And though Lennox Lewis had already long established himself in 2002, when he smashed Tyson to bits, the boxing fraternity could at last leave their fascination with “Iron Mike” behind. Lewis later bucked the trend when he just about turned back the challenge of Vitali Klitschko but, in a roundabout way, he too still welcomed the new leader in the process. And, most recently, Wladimir Klitschko being halted in 11 rounds by Anthony Joshua in 2017 signalled a new dawn.
Almost 10 years later, the current landscape might soon need a similar clear out.
Oleksandr Usyk, 39, continues to rightly stand tall as the division leader. But that his next fight comes against Rico Verhoeven, a kickboxer of no repute in the boxing world, will do little to progress the sport, the heavyweight division, or the titles he holds.
Usyk, some argue, has earned his right to a low-risk-high-reward affair after two wins over each of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Daniel Dubois. That would seem like a fair assumption if there wasn’t a bottleneck situation developing below the Ukrainian, however.
Already we have a new WBO beltholder, Fabio Wardley, because Usyk opted against fighting the Englishman. Over in the WBC rankings, Agit Kabayel is right to feel like he’s being left out of the party, too. And then there is the man of the moment, Moses Itauma, breathing with increasing urgency down everyone’s neck but, alas, someone else who Usyk has seemingly ruled out fighting.
More of the old guard are stubbornly refusing to give up their positions, too. Fury returns in a little over a week’s time and will only target Joshua or Usyk should he win. Joshua, we’re led to believe, is also weighing up his comeback options. For sure, Itauma won’t be on his list, either.
Fury and Joshua, though a bout between the pair is long past its sell-by date, can perhaps be forgiven for keeping themselves occupied. Yet Usyk – as the recognized champion – surely has a duty to accept the challenges of his closest rivals.
“That’s probably a question for Usyk to answer,” Itauma this week told Sky Sports when asked why it’s so unlikely that he’ll get the chance to take on the great champion. “Me, I’m just chipping away with trying to get through the rankings and trying to get a crack at a world title.
“If ever [Usyk] wants to make that fight, of course, I’ll be 100 per cent down for it.”
What comes next for Itauma is unknown though it’s easy to presume he’ll have options aplenty given his No. 1 ranking with two of the four sanctioning bodies.
The WBA have already ordered Itauma to challenge for their regular belt but, with the owner of it being Murat Gassiev who is handled by the IBA, a fight in Russia for a secondary belt is unlikely to appeal to Team Itauma.
Heading down to the WBO route seems more likely but even that’s far from certain. Itauma’s gymmate Wardley – who takes on Daniel Dubois next month – holds that title and could be a tricky affair to arrange with both fighters sharing the same trainer in Ben Davison.
“If Fabio [beats Dubois] then it’ll be sticky but if Dubois wins, then that fight makes sense.”
In the meantime, with a July date in London already pencilled in for Itauma, his next outing might be a non-title affair against someone like Martin Bakole, with Filip Hrgovic - should he make quick work of Dave Allen - also under consideration.
