Moses Itauma believes it is unlikely he will fight again before the end of the year.
The rising heavyweight star is coming off a breakthrough performance, knocking out Dillian Whyte in the first round in August.
Itauma maintained that momentum and looked to box again in December, but now expects his next fight to take place in early 2026.
“I would have liked to have had the fight on December 13th, but I think Dillian Whyte vs. (Derek) Chisora has been somewhat anointed. So I think it’ll be late January, late February. We’ll see.” Itauma said. Sky Sports News.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Moses Itauma’s trainer Ben Davidson says Moses Itauma will now face heavyweight champion Oleksandr Jusik, calling it a ‘win-win’.
That means he’ll only be in the box twice this year, and his penchant for dominating opponents means he’ll barely get three rounds of action in 2025.
Looking ahead to next year, Itauma said: “You can set goals for yourself, but you can never achieve them, because they are never in your hands. My goal is to beat everyone in front of me, but other than that, there’s not much I can do.”
A complication in planning Itauma’s next move was the situation with his secondary belt, the WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title.
Itauma was earmarked as the next challenger for the WBA ‘regular’ belt held by Kubrat Pulev, but the Bulgarian later announced a fight with Murat Gassiev in December.
Itauma’s promoter Frank Warren said: “We’ll have to see what happens with this Pulev situation because the WBA has ordered that fight and he can’t walk away from it. We’ll see where we go.
“They’re saying they want to go to Dubai for this Gassiev fight, but the WBA hasn’t sanctioned that fight as far as I know. How can they sanction it if they put up another fight? So that’s where we are.”
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
British boxing legend Lennox Lewis believes Moses Itauma is not ready to challenge for a world title and should wait until Oleksandr Jusik retires.
Wardley’s ‘The Real Rocky Story’
Itauma’s gym mate Fabio Wardley captured the attention of the heavyweight division over the weekend with a stoppage win over Joseph Parker.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the heavyweight fight between Fabio Wadley and Joseph Parker at the O2 Arena. (Courtesy: DAZN)
Itauma praised Wardley’s showing. “He just beat a guy with all the amateur pedigree, he fought all these names and Fabio got there with just a few unlicensed fights and now he could potentially be boxing for the world heavyweight championship. This is not a mockery of the sport, it’s more of a real Rocky story,” Itauma said. Sky Sports News.
“If he (Usyk) fights I will support him till the end, but it is a difficult question. I will never hate him because he is in the same gym as me.”
“He did it on his own, but he definitely overachieved in the sport, so anything he does from now on will always just be a bonus.”
