Moses Itauma failed to shatter Mike Tyson’s record of becoming the youngest world heavyweight champion in history, but he is on track to become one of the youngest champions as a stepping stone to a world title has presented itself through fellow Brit Dillian Whyte.
Whether the fight will actually happen is still a matter of speculation. According to ESPN, the fight appears a distinct possibility on an upcoming Riyadh Season card on August 16―a card that will further feature another Queensberry Promotions fighter in WBA featherweight (126 lbs) champion Nick Ball (22-0-1, 13 KO’s) who will reportedly face Australian contender Sam Goodman (20-0, 8 KO’s), best known for failing to fight Naoya Inoue a division below his upcoming fight at super bantamweight (122 lbs).
37-year old Dillian Whyte (31-3, 21 KO’s) may no longer be the top contender he had been consistently for years but he has attempted to make a comeback following the failed drug test that prevented him from facing Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KO’s)―a drug test he would eventually prove his innocence against under dubious circumstances.
Having fought twice since making his in-ring comeback, Whyte’s opponents―Christian Hammer and Ebenezer Tetteh―weren’t the prominent heavyweights he would have fought years past but still allowed him to maintain his form in 2024. In 2025, Whyte would be scheduled to face the more relevant yet clearly-declined Joe Joyce in a prevalent domestic match-up, but Whyte would withdraw from the fight due to an injury.
With rumors now pinpointing Whyte will now fight 20-year old British prospect Moses Itauma (12-0, 10 KO’s), both fighters will potentially head into a bout that will answer plenty of questions.
Particularly, questions surrounding Whyte’s ability to still be considered a top heavyweight, and questions centering around whether Itauma is the hot-shot prospect that can become a genuine contender and challenge―or even win―a world title.
With Whyte’s experience far trumping that of Itauma, given he has had multiple shots at a world title and fought against several other top heavyweights, Itauma might be stumbling upon a challenge too steep.
Yet that is exactly the sort of premise that makes boxing exciting and watchable as the possible fight-in-the-making will see the old lion face the young potential upstart in one of British heavyweight boxing’s most eyecatching fights this year.
At the same time, other conflicting reports suggest Dillian Whyte will be facing Lawrence Okolie, who like Itauma is also a Queensberry fighter; a fight that would arguably be more realistic to make given both fighters are well-experienced at this point and there appears to be a genuine grudge between the two.
