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The road that led to Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte
On August 16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Moses Itauma and Dillian Whyte will clash in a crossover between two generations of British heavyweights.
This fight represents a big crossroads for both; defeat is not an option for either man if they hope to be a name in the world championship conversation after the eventual break-up of Oleksandr Usyk’s undisputed heavyweight titles.
Itauma is the brightest prospect that British boxing has seen in some time, and this fight will be the perfect opportunity for him to prove that he can mix it with world title challengers after dispatching his early opposition with ease.
As the sun begins to set on the storied career of Dillian Whyte, a victory against Itauma will give him the chance at one final run at the world title glory he has been chasing for over a decade.
A crossroads for both, but how have their paths led them to this heavyweight convergence? Here’s the breakdown.
Whyte vs Fury
April 23, 2022, Wembley Stadium – Whilst Moses Itauma was still toiling his trade as an amateur sensation fresh off his European Youth championships victory, Dillian Whyte was about to have his first shot at a heavyweight world title against Tyson Fury.
Whyte had spent over 1,000 days as the WBC’s number one contender and had finally been given the chance to summit the final peak of the heavyweight mountain.
It was not enough on the night, as Whyte never got a foothold in the contest. Fury’s size advantage and superior boxing ability stifled Whyte’s attempts to strip him of his heavyweight strap.
Fury landed an uppercut that put an end to the fight in the sixth round, and after a lacklustre comeback win against Jermain Franklin Jr, Whyte would not fight again until 2024.
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Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images
Itauma enters the professional ranks
After becoming the Youth world champion in 2022, the 18-year-old sensation was quickly snapped up by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions. With dreams of becoming the youngest heavyweight champion of all-time, Itauma got straight to work.
In his first year as a professional, Itauma fought seven times, curating a record of 7-0 (5). Two points decisions across six rounds would be the most experience he got in the ring, as none of his other five opponents would see the end of the first round.
The beginning of Itauma’s career aligned with a hiatus for Whyte. He was initially scheduled for a huge rematch with Anthony Joshua, but an adverse finding in a pre-fight drug test, followed by a lengthy investigation, meant that Joshua had to find a new opponent.
Whyte was cleared of any intentional ingestion of banned substances but had a whole year of his career taken from him, and he had to build from the ground up.
Speaking to Sky Sports once he was found innocent, Whyte said: “First of all, I'm relieved more than anything, but of course I'm angry as well because it's cost me so much. The most important thing is it cost me the chance to beat AJ. Everything else after that is secondary but you know it's a mix of emotions.
"I'm angry and I'm disappointed as well because people in this game don't give you a chance to prove yourself. Everybody is quick to say, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah,' instead of giving people a chance."
Whyte’s comeback and Itauma’s toughest test
Whyte returned after a year in exile. He took on Christian Hammer, forcing him to retire in the third round and the durable-but-unproven Ebenezer Tetteh, whom he also forced to retire, this time in the seventh.
Meanwhile, Itauma took on a test that many thought was too early for him – Dempsey McKean, the towering Australian who was coming off a twelfth-round stoppage defeat to Filip Hrgovic.
Many thought the much larger and more experienced McKean could be the man to take Itauma into deep waters and test his character, but the Brit blew him away in the first round, knocking him down twice with overhand lefts.
It was a trip up to Glasgow next for the Slovakian-born Brit, to take on the untested but powerful Mike Balogun after a brief break through injury. A second-round stoppage would give Itauma his seventh consecutive knockout and set him up perfectly for another step up in opposition.
The ‘Body Snatcher’ also struggled with injury but was set to return on the undercard of Fabio Wardley vs Justis Huni in June, but mysteriously pulled out for an, at the time, unknown ‘bigger’ opportunity.
This would turn out to be Itauma.
Opportunity for comparison
The two only share one opponent, and that is heavyweight gatekeeper Mariusz Wach.
Dillian Whyte faced Wach in 2019, coming in at a career heaviest 271lbs, and laboured to a unanimous decision against an over-the-hill Wach.
Itauma became one of only six people to stop Wach in nearly 50 fights and did it faster than any of the previous five, putting on a two-round demolition job in 2024.
If comparisons are to be made, Whyte has a big problem on his hands come August 16.
Watch Itauma vs Whyte live on DAZN
You can watch Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte live on DAZN on August 16. More information is available here.
