Moses Itauma showed the boxing world why he is the heir apparent to Oleksandr Usyk's throne as heavyweight king earlier this month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 20-year-old prospect, who in March topped Uncrowned's inaugural list of the 25 greatest up-and-coming talents in combat sports, needed just under two minutes to blow away what was being promoted as his toughest to date in the form of one-time title challenger Dillian Whyte.
Although many within the boxing fraternity expected Itauma to defeat Whyte comfortably, the manner and speed with which he did so was a sight to behold.
"We knew it had potential to go that quick, but [it was] dependent on how Dillian was going to approach the fight," Itauma's trainer Ben Davison explained to Uncrowned and DAZN's "Ariel x Ade" show. "It just so happened that he approached the fight [in a way] that we thought, 'Surely he can't go about it like that?' But he did, and it's hard to defend against [Itauma] at the best of times. The moment that certain things were happening, Moses was able to process that. He worked on certain things that were happening, and he was able to execute.
"I thought [Whyte] may take a certain type of approach to try and make himself a bit more awkward, and get a chance to have a look and just try and maybe slow the fast starter down," Davison continued. "But he didn't quite take that approach."
Davison, alongside tactical analysts Lee Wylie and Barry Smith, operates a unique training setup in Harlow, Essex, where an emphasis is placed on studying footage and constructing game plans and tactics based on fighters' faults and habits. Despite being only 32 years old, Davison has established himself as one of the top coaches in boxing with his approach and boasts Tyson Fury, Devin Haney, Anthony Joshua and Billy Joe Saunders, among others, within his stellar coaching résumé. Davison has explained in the past that his focus on film study stems from his background in English soccer, where a greater emphasis is placed on studying individual players and implementing situational tactics.
Itauma began training at the Ben Davison Performance Centre in early 2024 ahead of his ninth professional fight against Ilja Mezencev on the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk I undercard. Itauma and Davison have worked together for five fights to date, which have lasted less than eight combined rounds.
"Moses, for all the talent that people call it, he's a tremendously hard worker," Davison said. "He loves the sport of boxing and is an absolute pleasure to work with because he's so focused, [and] he's so committed. Anything you ask him to do, he'll go in and try and do. That's what allows him to go in and execute. It's not talent, it's hard work.
"[There are] lots of young fighters who have ability, but what's allowing him to do what he's doing at such a young age is his emotional maturity, which is so rare. That, in itself, is something that is spectacular, and that is what is allowing him to do what he's doing at such a young age in such convincing fashion, as if he expects it to happen as well."
Itauma doesn't speak or act like some would expect a much-hyped 20-year-old heavyweight to speak or act. He isn't overzealous, nor does he overlook his often overmatched opponents, but instead gives them the respect and preparation they deserve. Beyond that, though, is a sense of quiet confidence around Itauma. The Brit has been sparring with world champion boxers, namely Lawrence Okolie, since he was 15 years old — he knows how good he is, but still, he remains grounded and calculated.
"He was almost slightly frustrated after the fight [against Whyte] because, as much as everybody [says] that they want to see him get pushed and get tested, he's putting himself in a buildup expecting there to be a certain level of resistance," Davison said. "When the opponents are not able to do that, he almost gets a bit of an anticlimax, to be honest.
"I said to him, 'Look, the performance might've looked easy, but it wasn't easy. You put in a really tough training camp, you put in a hell of a lot of work to put in a performance like that.' In the post-fight press conference, he actually said, 'I've done a 12-week training camp to go out and put a performance on like that.' But it's not. He started boxing at such a young age. It's been 10-11 years of work for him to be able to go out there and deliver the nights and the performances he's delivering at the moment."
Although the results continue to be the same — and are often always devastating — Itauma is slowly stepping up his levels of competition. Many are eager for Itauma to test himself against the best the heavyweight division has to offer, but Davison — and Itauma's promoter Frank Warren, who is a master of making fights for his boxers at the right time — want to make sure not to rush Itauma, allowing him to develop at the right pace.
With pound-for-pound No. 1 Usyk having potentially just one fight left in the sport, there's a worry that Itauma may miss the boat to test himself against one of the best heavyweights ever. Davison believes Itauma has the skill set to face Usyk now but needs more ring experience before taking on such a challenge.
"If we were to put him in that Usyk fight and he [were] to lose," Davison said, "[and] if I [were] to look back on that situation and say what probably should we have done differently [to give] him more of a better chance in that fight, it would be rounds. We need to find somebody [who's] able to deliver rounds, because as much as people claim that he's never fought anybody like Usyk, which is correct, I'm strongly of the opinion that Usyk has not boxed somebody like Moses either. Somebody with the IQ that could match anybody at any weight. Somebody with the agility, coordination, speed and power that he has. It's a fight that intrigues me, but I think to give him the best chance, I think rounds [are] what we're looking for."
Davison said he has a couple of opponents he would like Itauma to face next. Although he refused to name said fighters, the trainer confirmed that one of them was a top-10 ranked heavyweight — a list that includes Anthony Joshua, Fabio Wardley, Tyson Fury, Joseph Parker, Agit Kabayel, Daniel Dubois, Filip Hrgovic, Zhilei Zhang and Martin Bakole — any of whom, except Fury, could be the fighter Davison sees as a preferred opponent for Itauma's next bout.
If any of those fights materialize, then boxing fans can relish in the knowledge that Itauma will face the test of a real heavyweight contender next time out.
As for former unified heavyweight champion Joshua, who also works under Davison, a return is being targeted for late 2025 or early 2026, according to the trainer, with Jake Paul understood to be a serious contender to land a fight in 2026 following Paul's Nov. 14 bout against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Uncrowned understands that a bout against France's Tony Yoka has been discussed for Joshua as well.
Joshua vs. Paul would be viewed in boxing circles as a dangerous mismatch — and Davison struggles to disagree.
"Francis Ngannou was more qualified [than Paul] after his fight with Tyson Fury to box Anthony Joshua," Davison said. "That being [because of] him being one of the most durable men on the planet — and we saw what happened there. For Jake Paul to go in against Anthony Joshua, just picture what we saw against Francis Ngannou, and then picture Francis Ngannou versus Jake Paul, even just from a physical standpoint.
"I think [Joshua's] goal is to become a world champion or to do the Fury fight. I don't know what the right next step is or when that step is, there's a lot of talk of this Jake Paul stuff, but I suppose we'll see."
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