OPINION | In the build-up to Riyadh’s latest blockbuster, the question on everyone’s lips seems to be how good Moses Itauma will look against Dillian Whyte.
Barely any are daring to ask the uncomfortable question: what if he loses?
The 20-year-old prodigy, billed as one of the best prospects in world boxing, has been fast-tracked into a dangerous heavyweight showdown with a man who has fought at the very top level.
And as Eddie Hearn pointed out this week, there are questions Itauma has never had to answer.
The Uncomfortable Question
“As good as Moses Itauma is, there’s just a couple of questions that he’s never had to answer, and I think this is the man to pose them,” said Hearn. “Just the little glint in his eye this week.
“I think Dillian’s back is against the wall, and I think he’s a very dangerous man when that’s the case. I didn’t think he’d take this fight, but the fact that he took it tells me something.”
Frank Warren, who promotes Itauma, acknowledged that Whyte is the only man who stepped up to fight the young phenom, describing the former world title challenger as a “warrior” with “fantastic credentials” and a training camp that has left him in “tremendous condition.”
Whyte himself was quick to bat away suggestions that he was playing mind games. “There aren’t any sheep around here. I always come to fight, and nothing has changed. I always try to find a way to get the victory,” he warned.
Play a Sheep to Catch a Wolf
Itauma insists he is taking the fight seriously. “I’m not delusional. I know what threat Dillian Whyte poses. I’m not overlooking him, I’m taking this man seriously,” said the young heavyweight, while admitting that Whyte may be employing the “play a sheep to catch a wolf” tactic from the 48 Laws of Power.
Yet the boxing world seems fixed on a Moses Itauma victory, the young star rising, the veteran taking his final payday.
History warns against such complacency.
Whyte is in shape, motivated, and has built a career on upsetting the odds.
If Itauma wins, his stock soars. If he loses, the questions change overnight, and the answers may take years to write. Because come Sunday morning, the headlines may not be about Moses Itauma’s coronation at all, they may be about the rebirth of Dillian Whyte.
It’s heavyweight boxing, and you can never rule it out.
About the Author
Phil Jay is a veteran boxing journalist with over 15 years of experience covering the global fight scene. As Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News since 2010, Jay has interviewed dozens of world champions and reported ringside on boxing’s biggest nights. [View all articles by Phil Jay] and learn more about his work in combat sports journalism.