Oleksandr Usyk, the two-time undisputed heavyweight world champion and one of the greats of his era, is the latest to endorse Moses Itauma, the British-Nigerian prodigy who has taken the boxing world by storm. “Great man, great fight. I think Itauma is the future of boxing. I like this guy. Yeah, definitely (he’s ready for me),” says the undefeated Ukrainian, who has defeated his leading rivals twice over.

After his emphatic fifth-round knockout of Daniel Dubois in their undisputed world title bout at Wembley Stadium earlier in July, Usyk sealed his status as one of boxing’s modern-day greats. With earlier victories over Anthony Joshua (twice) and Tyson Fury (twice), the 38-year-old has already achieved much in his career, and is given to drawing the curtain, envisioning two more (most likely high-profile) bouts before retirement.

Directing his attention to Itauma, the 20-year-old who’s only just outlived the heavyweight prospect tag, is a big indicator of the younger boxer’s prowess. 

If there were any doubts about Moses Itauma’s abilities before, he dispelled them in Riyadh in August when he took less than two minutes to knock out Dillian Whyte in their all-British heavyweight clash. The emphatic victory over 37-year-old Whyte, a former WBC interim heavyweight champion, took Itauma’s undefeated record to 11 knockouts in 13 bouts, with two being by decision.

Born in Slovakia to a Nigerian father and a Slovak mother, Itauma is of British nationality since he relocated there in 2008. His path to boxing was ignited by his elder brother Karol Itauma, who’s somewhat of a rising star in the light-heavyweight division with 13 wins in 14 fights. Moses, the more prominent of the brothers and a rising force in the heavyweight division, has always shown a level of maturity and composure beyond his years since winning in just 23 seconds against Marcel Bod on his professional debut at Wembley Arena in 2023.

“I think I got the best of both worlds, that Slovak toughness, mentality, and I’m strong physically from my Nigerian side,’’ Itauma said of his heritage in December 2024.

The 20-year-old has, over time, had to shrug off comparisons with Mike Tyson. Meanwhile, his recent victories have only increased calls for high-profile fights.

“Moses Itauma will wreck all the old men out of the division. Usyk, AJ, Miller. Whoever it is that’s old,” former heavyweight world champion Fury said.  “Even the man who took my belts. Usyk, Moses will wreck him because it’s a young man versus an old man. And an old man can’t mess with a young man.”

Who Itauma fights next has the boxing world split in two: one side believes a high-profile bout at his fledgling stage might derail the momentum he’s currently building, while the other insists the chance of a victory against a top name is too big an opportunity to let slip. Amidst these, it’s a good thing for Itauma that the question is when, not if, he’ll fight an heavyweight elite. And when it eventually does happen — sometime in 2026, per reports — it’s going to be the ultimate test for the 20-year-old.