Moses Itauma says he is ready to take his hugely promising career to new heights when he faces Dillian Whyte in Saudi on Saturday night.
The big-hitting rivals will share the ring in Saudi Arabia for the latest instalment of heavyweight classics under the Riyadh Season banner live on DAZN PPV.
This fight has serious implications for the careers of both men, but 20-year-old Itauma is confident he can prevail if he sticks to the gameplan.
He is also refusing to get caught up in the outside noise surrounding the scrap and insisted he is not feeling the pressure.
In an exclusive sit-down interview with DAZN, Itauma said: “This is my breakout moment at the age of 20 against Dillian Whyte and I’m ready to enter the next level.
“The only thing you can do is either get angry or choose to ignore [the noise].
“I choose to keep in control of my emotions, so I just ignore it.
“I’m on my own path, everyone is on their own journey, and I’m not trying to compare anything.
“A lot of people put pressure on because they’re too worried about the outcome – I’m not worried about the outcome.
“I’m worried about the gameplan and then the gameplan leads to the outcome.
“My feelings and opinions of myself can’t be based on what someone else thinks of me.”
Whyte, 37, will be a huge underdog against highly-rated Itauma, who has racked up 12 straight professional victories, including 10 by KO.
Itauma added: “Potentially I might be boxing the best Dillian Whyte there is because this is his last chance.
“I’ve just got to stop him from coming back into the division.
“To be honest, for a long time the fight was made but I didn’t believe that it was going to happen.
“There was no talk about it, no presser; no nothing.
“I was like ‘am I even fighting him?’ but I kept chipping away and until he reposted something about our fight I was like ‘okay, cool, the fight’s on’.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still been training hard – but there’s something different about this fight.”
When it was suggested that Whyte is in his best physical condition for years, Itauma replied: “There you go. So I must get credit when I beat him.”
Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte is live and exclusive on DAZN PPV this Saturday, August 16. Buy the PPV for a one-off fee or get it for free by purchasing a DAZN annual subscription (exc. US).
More information, pricing and to buy click here.