Moses Itauma

Last updated

Moses Itauma
Born
Enriko Itauma

(2004-12-28) 28 December 2004 (age 19)
Kežmarok, Slovakia
NationalityBritish[ citation needed ]
Statistics
Weight(s) Heavyweight
Height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Stance Southpaw
Boxing record [1]
Total fights11
Wins11
Wins by KO9

Moses Itauma (born 28 December 2004) is a Slovakian-born British professional boxer who holds the WBO Intercontinental heavyweight title. He is the younger brother of light-heavyweight fighter Karol Itauma.

Contents

Early life

Itauma was born in Slovakia in the town of Kežmarok to a Nigerian father and Slovakian mother. [2] He and his family experienced racism in Slovakia stating “Me and my brothers got racially abused. It wasn’t a good place to be." [2] Finally, the family decided to move to England, firstly to leave the racist environment they were in and secondly to search for new opportunities which Slovakia did not provide. [2] He was the last person in the family to move to England which was in 2008 and eventually he settled in Chatham, Medway.

Growing up, his favourite fighter was Prince Naseem Hamed and Itauma has stated that he tries to implement elements of Hamed's style into his own game. [2] [3] He stated "I used to watch a lot of Naseem Hamed. I must have watched the same video of him about 50 times, I remember it was a highlight reel which started off with him dancing. He was one of my favourite fighters. I’ve got a different style from him but I do try to implement some of the things he used to do." [2] Itauma got into boxing at the age of nine through his brother Karol (who was an amateur boxer at the time) who then invited him to the boxing gym one day. [3] However, after a few hard boxing sessions, he switched to playing football with his other brother Samuel. [3] Later on, he switched back to boxing at St Mary’s ABC in Chatham, Kent after finding football boring. [2] [3]

Amateur career

Itauma had an unbeaten amateur career, turning professional with a record of 24 wins with 11 wins by knockout. He claimed gold medals in Schools, Juniors, Youth European and the Heavyweight Youth World Gold Medal. [4]

Professional career

Itauma made his debut on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Anthony Yarde on 28 January 2023, at the Wembley Arena. He easily dispatched his opponent after just 23 seconds. [5] Itauma has aspirations for breaking the 38 year old Mike Tyson record for being the youngest heavyweight champion. [6]

Itauma won the vacant WBO Intercontinental heavyweight title with a second-round stoppage victory against Germany's Ilja Mezencev on the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk bill in Saudi Arabia on 18 May 2024. [7] He retained his title with another second-round stoppage win, this time over Polish boxer Mariusz Wach at The O2 Arena, London, on 27 July 2024. [8] [9] [10]

In his next bout, he stopped Demsey McKean in the first round on 21 December 2024, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of the undercard for the heavyweight world title rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury. [11] [12]

Professional boxing record

11 fights11 wins0 losses
By knockout90
By decision20
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
11Win11–0 Demsey McKean TKO1 (10) 1:5721 Dec 2024Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaRetained WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title;
Won vacant WBA International and Commonwealth Silver heavyweight titles
10Win10–0 Mariusz Wach TKO2 (10), 2:3027 Jul 2024 The O2 Arena, London, EnglandRetained WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
9Win9–0Ilja MezencevTKO2 (10), 0:50 18 May 2024 Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
8Win8–0Dan GarberTKO1 (8), 2:2222 Mar 2024York Hall, London, England
7Win7–0Michal BolozTKO1 (6), 1:001 Dec 2023 York Hall, London, England
6Win6–0 István Bernáth TKO1 (6), 1:53 28 Oct 2023 Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
5Win5–0Amine BoucettaTKO1 (6), 1:3323 Sep 2023Wembley Arena, London, England
4Win4–0Kevin Nicolas EspindolaPTS629 Jul 2023Telford International Centre, Telford, England
3Win3–0Kostiantyn DovbyshchenkoPTS615 Apr 2023 Copper Box Arena, London, England
2Win2–0Ramon Alberto IbarraKO1 (4), 0:3525 Mar 2023Telford International Centre, Telford, England
1Win1–0Marcel BodeKO1 (4), 0:2328 Jan 2023 Wembley Arena, London, England

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References

  1. ↑ "Boxing record for Moses Itauma". BoxRec .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Taylor, Declan (14 April 2023). "Tick, Tock: Moses Itauma is a young heavyweight in a hurry". Boxing News. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 talkSPORT Boxing (23 July 2024). 19 Year Old Moses Itauma BELIEVES He Will Be The Future Of The Heavyweight Division! 🥊⭐ . Retrieved 27 July 2024– via YouTube.
  4. ↑ "Moses Itauma". Queensbury Promotions. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "Heavyweight Hope Moses Itauma Wins Pro Debut". boxing247.com. 27 March 2024.
  6. ↑ "Rising heavyweight star Moses Itauma wants to break legend Mike Tyson's record". irishmirror.ie. 27 March 2024.
  7. ↑ "Explosive Moses Itauma Stops Ilja Mezencev In Two". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  8. ↑ "Heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma hammers Mariusz Wach in two". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "'Britain's Mike Tyson' Moses Itauma lives up to his moniker as he knocks out durable Mariusz Wach quicker than anyone has before". Talksport. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "Tyson Fury Declines The Possibility Of Fighting Moses Itauma, Calls It A 'Stupid Fight'". KO On SI. 7 October 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  11. ↑ "Devastating Moses Itauma obliterates Demsey McKean in a round". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  12. ↑ "Heavyweight hope Itauma stops McKean in one round". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
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