Here’s a plot twist for you: the most exciting heavyweight in the world thinks he’s boring. And a spoiler: this weekend, Moses Itauma is likely to prove exactly why he is so exciting.
On Saturday, Itauma welcomes Jermaine Franklin to Manchester’s Co-op Live arena. It will not be a warm welcome. Itauma, 21, occasionally comes across as frosty – although he isn’t, deep down – and that’s purely from conversational experience. One dreads to consider the chill from staring him down in the ring.
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But that will be Franklin’s position this weekend, as the 32-year-old American aims to pluck Itauma’s rising star straight out of the Manchester night sky. Franklin, to his credit, has only been beaten by Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, going the distance with both, yet Itauma needed just 119 seconds to dismantle Whyte in August.
Moses Itauma ahead of his fight with Dillian Whyte (Getty Images)
That’s what we’re dealing with. A British talent who might’ve broken Mike Tyson’s record as the youngest world heavyweight champion, if not for the predictable politics of modern boxing. Yet when one hits as hard and fast as Itauma – and few do – they can take the politics out of the sport, to an extent. In other words: Itauma is coming for a world title. He is an ominous, looming threat.
Furthermore, he has his head screwed on in a way that is impressive for his age, at the risk of sounding condescending. “Of course,” he says, before adding with a smirk: “Maybe I’m just boring.”
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This follows his confession that, after GQ’s Men Of The Year after-party last winter, he might’ve developed an aversion to such glitzy gatherings. And that might be for the best, when it comes to his career.
“I feel like I lost myself to find myself again,” he tells publications including The Independent. “When I was at these parties and whatnot… I know you’ve got to enjoy yourself, you’ve got to relax, but for me personally, I was like: ‘Ah, I’m not really doing my purpose.’ Boxing is my No 1, and when I was at these parties… obviously, it’s great, it’s fun to be around new people and XYZ, but I almost had the element of ‘I need to get back in the gym’.”
So, save the parties for retirement? “Exactly. It got a lot of my friends; a lot of them could’ve been something, but they got caught up in the party life. Even if you ask my amateur trainers, all of them said I wasn’t the talented-est, I didn’t hit the hardest, but I kind of had the consistency to stay on, whereas everyone else went to parties. So when I was at these parties, I was like: ‘I don’t want to get caught up in that cycle.’”
Such events are superfluous distractions, as is social media, according to Itauma, who displays an unusual comfort with living a life atypical for a 21-year-old.
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“I don’t have social media,” he says. “A lot of people, they spend too much time on it, and I was one of those people. At one point, I was just like: ‘I’ve got too much stress on my mind, too much going on,’ so I deleted it last year. I might go on for like 10-15 minutes to reply to people and post whatever I’ve got to post – media or sponsor obligations – but I haven’t been on Insta[gram] for, like, two days now.”
So, he doesn’t get sucked in by comments, as so many people do? “I used to, but I don’t even have comments turned on 1774463889. You’ve got to realise: social media isn’t social media, it’s yourself. It picks up on things you’re interested in and mirrors it back to you, so you’re not distracted by social media, you’re distracted by yourself. I just didn’t want that distraction any more.”
Itauma made short work of Whyte in August (Getty Images)
The willingness to sacrifice such underestimated vices is admirable, yet Itauma said in late 2024, “I never feel the happy sides of my life,” which felt a concern. Or it would, but he has changed since then.
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“When you start achieving a little bit of success, you start to see value in the relationships you have,” he says. “I started realising that my bond with my family became more strong and more important, and then the ones that weren’t so much, they kind of just dropped out. Then everyone’s like: ‘Ah, you’ve changed.’ I’m supposed to; my whole life has changed, I’m not supposed to stay a caterpillar.”
It’s the most poignant moment in the conversation, and another example of Itauma’s introspective side – a side that his promoter, Frank Warren, has noticed.
Warren has noticed the change in Itauma, too. “He’s become a little bit more outgoing,” the Queensberry boss tells The Independent. “He was very much an introvert, but once he warms to you, he’s got a good sense of humour. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, and he’s matured not just physically but mentally.”
Itauma facing off with Jermaine Franklin, as Frank Warren watches on (Getty)
Warren, 74, also speaks of feeling a paternal responsibility for the 21-year-old. “Very much so. We sponsored him when he was young, and he turned pro with us as soon as he could. Obviously, it’s difficult, because he’s training and I’m here, there and everywhere, but we speak, we had breakfast a couple of weeks ago. I’ve got a lot of time for him. I think he’s gonna be a great ambassador for British boxing, world boxing… He’s a really grounded, sensible guy, and he loves what he’s doing; he’s quite a student of boxing, he watches a lot of other fights, and he’s got a plan.”
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Most importantly, though, “He can fight!” Warren has been aware of that since Itauma was a teenager, arriving at gyms in his school uniform before sparring and – at least once – getting the better of one of the promoter’s heavyweights.
“I thought, ‘Bloody hell,’” Warren recalls. “I couldn’t make out who it was who had the head guard on, and when they told me who it was, I nearly fell through the floor. I won’t say who, because I don’t want to embarrass him, but that’s when we started sponsoring Moses.”
That was the very beginning, yet Itauma is still just getting started.
Itauma vs Franklin will stream live exclusively on DAZN worldwide. You can purchase a DAZN subscription here
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