When Moses Itauma prepared to fight Mike Balogun back in May, the idea behind it was twofold: one, beat Mike Balogun in impressive fashion to crank up the hype, and two, get ready to fight Dillian Whyte, a more evolved version of Balogun, sometime in August.
Indeed, the primary reason for picking Balogun in the first place was because of his resemblance to Whyte, stylistically. By picking him, the people guiding Itauma were giving Itauma a warm up, a taste of things to come. They were thinking two moves ahead instead of just one.
Because that is what you do when trying to control and satisfy a prospect as good as Itauma. It is not enough to just focus on one opponent and hope he gets the win and improves his record. It takes more than that. It takes foresight. It takes planning. It takes a kind of ambition – tempting fate, almost – and an unwavering belief that tougher tests lie ahead, always.
On Saturday, for instance, Itauma, 12-0 (10 KOs), will not only be fighting Whyte at last, but there will also be plans for the next one, and the one after that. Such is his talent, and so great is the expectation around him, there can be no other way.
“Everything we do has a reason for it and it’s all about making sure he is prepared for the bigger challenges,” said Francis Warren, son of Frank and Itauma’s manager. “No disrespect to Mike [Balogun], but Dillian poses a far greater threat. He is a bad, bad dude, Dillian Whyte. His highlight-reel knockout of Derek Chisora [from 2018] has been doing the rounds this week on social media and it was a huge, huge shot.
“If anyone in this division gets walloped by a punch like that, with that kind of weight behind it, they’re going to be in big, big trouble. Ask Dillian about the shot [Alexander] Povetkin caught him with [in 2020]. These guys are dangerous guys and Dillian has got pedigree. He gave Anthony Joshua a serious, serious fight [in 2015] and Dillian and Derek had two fantastic wars [one in 2016, the other in 2018]. He also beat [Joseph] Parker [in 2018], who is mandatory challenger for [Oleksandr] Usyk. So Dillian Whyte is a dangerous man.
“The fact that Moses is still only 20 years old shows you what his ambitions are, firstly, but also the faith I’ve got in him and the faith Ben [Davison, Itauma’s coach] has got in him, and the faith that my dad and George [Warren, Itauma’s promoter] have got in him. We know he can go and do this. If he goes and beats Dillian Whyte, at 20 years old, and does it in dramatic fashion, or schools him over 10 rounds, it’s serious, serious business.”
Whenever one becomes involved in serious business, it pays to stay sharp and think ahead. In the case of Itauma, that means planning for the future and figuring out the best – and quickest – way to get what he has always wanted: a world heavyweight title. Should he beat Whyte on Saturday, he will move him a step closer to that goal, of that there is no doubt. In fact, that is the whole reason they targeted Whyte and why Mike Balogun, the test dummy, was used for Itauma three months ago in Glasgow.
The big question, after Saturday, will likely be this: What does Itauma do next? It is, in truth, a question easier to ask than to answer. At just 20, Itauma has all the time in the world, it would seem, and yet he displays a level of talent which suggests that stalling for time would be almost as troublesome as rushing. Even the speed with which he has landed a fight like Saturday’s, against Whyte, has both shocked people and highlighted the difficulty of holding him back. After all, Whyte, unlike Balogun, has value in the heavyweight division – yes, despite failing more than one performance-enhancing drug test in his career – and even now, at this late stage, isn’t far off the upper echelons. He has, at 37, slipped a bit, and clearly found his level, but to beat Whyte, 31-3 (21 KOs), not only shows potential but means you have arrived among the big dogs of the heavyweight division.
If that is where Itauma finds himself come Sunday morning, the men guiding him will need to work out – if they have not already – whether to continue in that direction (up, up and away!) or instead slow down and allow Itauma, 12-0 (10), the opportunity to relax and take in the sights.
“There are fights out there for him,” said Warren. “I like [Otto] Wallin, [Filip] Hrgovic, or [Zhilei] Zhang. I think those three fights are the kinds of fights we’ll be looking at for the next 12 months before we get to next summer and we start talking about some serious top-level guys for world titles. But those three fights make sense to me. The winner of Hrgovic and [David] Adeleye [on Saturday] interests me, or Wallin, or Zhang. A slight sidestep, or maybe one step up.”
Wallin, from Sweden, has long been a go-to gatekeeper for heavyweight contenders either on the rise or in need of repair. This has been true ever since he gave Tyson Fury a surprisingly tough fight in 2019. Since then, Wallin has boxed two other Brits, Anthony Joshua and Derek Chisora, and lost to both, though in defeat received nothing like the credit he received for losing, via decision, to Fury six years ago.
China’s Zhang, meanwhile, appeared a safe bet to fight for a proper version of the world heavyweight title only two years ago, but has recently fallen on hard times. Outpointed by Joseph Parker in 2024, he was earlier this year stopped in six rounds by Agit Kabayel, both of which were “interim” title fights.
As for Hrgovic, he must get past Britain’s David Adeleye this Saturday if he is to feature in Itauma’s future. That is a fight plenty expect the Croatian to win, but until he does, it is no use presuming he and Itauma will one day meet. All that matters for now is that Hrgovic, or someone of that ilk, represents the sort of opponent Itauma’s team will be actively targeting if everything goes to plan this weekend.
“There are fights we can take at the right time and for the right reasons,” said Warren, keen to stress the importance of patience. “I’ve got the utmost respect for Dillian, but he’s probably reached a point in his career now when he needs an injection into his career. He needs a fast-forward button put on his career.
“For me, it’s the perfect fight for Moses, because if he goes and beats Dillian, he’s beaten someone who was number one with the WBC and has boxed at the highest level. If he beats him in serious style, everybody’s going to really sit up and take notice. It will go beyond the boxing network – the people who currently know who he is. The people in the pub, and your football fans, will start going, ‘Bloody hell. Did you see that kid who beat Dillian Whyte?’ That’s the next step.”
For all the planning, that’s all it can ever be: one step at a time. These are heavyweights, lest we forget.
