Moses Itauma confronts perhaps his first true test as a professional heavyweight when on Saturday he fights Mariusz Wach.
The promising 19 year old has, alongside Jared Anderson, come to be considered the future of his glamorous weight division, and in Poland’s Wach fights an opponent who went the distance with the great Wladimir Klitschko for the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles.
Wach, 44, is considerably past his peak – the fight with Klitschko in 2012 was the first defeat of his career – but at 6ft 7.5ins and with an 82ins reach he represents one of the heavyweight division’s giants, and during his previous eight fights he has gone the 10-round distance with, among others, Dillian Whyte, Hughie Fury and Frazer Clarke.
That at 6ft 2.5ins Itauma is, by the standards of the modern era, relatively small for a heavyweight presents him with the challenge of using the speed and mobility that will gradually prove key if he is to fulfil his considerable potential – and perhaps also a test of how explosive he truly is, given the durability Wach has showed.
Itauma is open about having studied the performance of Kevin Lerena in victory over Wach in 2022, and he told BoxingScene: “It’s a good fight for me. He’s obviously gone the distance with a lot of boxers that are on the heavyweight scene now. Frazer Clarke – he boxed Mariusz Wach and then two fights later he boxed for the British title [against Fabio Wardley]. I can maybe be on that same pathway.
“It probably is my first proper test but it don’t feel like it. I feel like I could get rid of him. I want to get rid of him, and I don’t really want it to go the distance to be honest.
“He’s massive. A big old chin on him. It’s a good fight for me.
“I’ve got something that a lot of heavyweights ain’t got, and that’s speed. That’s what’s going to carry me through my career.
“I’ve only watched his fight with Kevin Lerena, because that’s the only fight that’s relevant to my style. Kevin’s a southpaw; he’s a shorter guy, like myself. We’re both not really front-foot fighters. Watching him against Klitschko’s irrelevant because that’s [over] 10 years ago; Klitschko’s orthodox; a lot bigger than me and a lot taller than me and a different style. The Kevin Lerena fight was very accurate to how I’m going to be boxing.
“Frank Warren said he’ll put me in with anyone if he sees me do the rounds. With this guy, he’s there to take me the rounds – to show I can go the distance – and then we’ll step up.”
Itauma’s promoter Frank Warren, who had previously guided Tyson Fury and Frank Bruno to world heavyweight titles, said: “I want him to get rid of people as quickly as he can. Having said that, there are some questions – they’re not things that I’m worried about, but with all fighters, you want to know what engine they’ve got when they get into the latter rounds, and it’s our job to try and find guys who can do that. At the moment, he’s going through them like water.
“This fella took Frazer Clarke the distance; Hughie Fury. Remember, this kid’s a teenager; they were men when they fought him. Look at the size of him – he’s a big, big, big fella. He’s gonna have to work hard, the kid. His advantages – his height; he’s heavier. He’ll also test Moses’ boxing IQ.
“He’s growing, and he’s naturally strong. The height of a heavyweight doesn’t mean anything. Mike Tyson; fighters like [Evander] Holyfield; David Haye. There’s a stack of them. He’s come into the business as a heavyweight – he’s not gone up in weight. As he gets older he’ll mature. He’s got tremendous hand speed; natural-born talent, and instinct.”