Moses Itauma (born 28 December 2004) is a Slovakian professional boxer who holds the WBO Intercontinental heavyweight title. He is the younger brother of light-heavyweight fighter Karol Itauma.
Moses Itauma | |
|---|---|
| Born | Enriko Itauma 28 December 2004 Kežmarok, Slovakia |
| Nationality | British, Slovak |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record[1] | |
| Total fights | 10 |
| Wins | 10 |
| Wins by KO | 8 |
Early life
editItauma was born in Slovakia in the town of Kežmarok to a Nigerian father and Slovakian mother.[2] Him and his family experienced racism in Slovakia stating “Me and my brothers got racially abused. It wasn’t a good place to be."[2] Finally, the family decided to move to England to firstly leave the racist environment they were in and secondly search for new opportunities which Slovakia did not provide.[2] He was the last person in the family to move to England which was in 2008 and eventually he settled in Kent.
Growing up, his favourite fighter was Prince Naseem Hamed and Itauma has stated that he tries to implement elements of Hamed's style into his own game.[2][3] He stated "I used to watch a lot of Naseem Hamed. I must have watched the same video of him about 50 times, I remember it was a highlight reel which started off with him dancing. He was one of my favourite fighters. I’ve got a different style from him but I do try to implement some of the things he used to do."[2] Itauma got into boxing at the age of nine through his brother Karol (who was an amateur boxer at the time) who then invited him to the boxing gym one day.[3] However, after a few hard boxing sessions, he switched to playing football with his other brother Samuel.[3] Later on, he switched back to boxing at St Mary’s ABC in Chatham, Kent after finding football boring.[2][3]
Amateur career
editItauma had an unbeaten amateur career, turning professional with a record of 24 wins with 11 wins by knockout. He claimed gold medals in Schools, Juniors, Youth European and the Heavyweight Youth World Gold Medal.[4]
Professional career
editItauma made his debut on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Anthony Yarde on 28 January 2023, at the Wembley Arena. He easily dispatched his opponent after just 23 seconds.[5] Itauma has aspirations for breaking the 38 year old Mike Tyson record for being the youngest heavyweight champion.[6]
Itauma won the vacant WBO Intercontinental heavyweight title with a second-round stoppage victory against Germany's Ilja Mezencev on the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk bill in Saudi Arabia on 18 May 2024.[7] He retained his title with another second-round stoppage win, this time over Polish boxer Mariusz Wach at The O2 Arena, London, on 27 July 2024.[8][9]
Professional boxing record
edit| 10 fights | 10 wins | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 8 | 0 |
| By decision | 2 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Mariusz Wach | TKO | 2 (10), 2:30 | 27 July 2024 | The O2 Arena, London, England | Retained WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Ilja Mezencev | TKO | 2 (10), 0:50 | 18 May 2024 | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Dan Garber | TKO | 1 (8), 2:22 | 22 March 2024 | York Hall, London, England | |
| 7 | Win | 7-0 | Michal Boloz | TKO | 1 (6), 1:00 | 1 Dec 2023 | York Hall, London, England | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | István Bernáth | TKO | 1 (6), 1:53 | 28 Oct 2023 | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Amine Boucetta | TKO | 1 (6), 1:33 | 23 Sep 2023 | Wembley Arena, London, England | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Kevin Nicolas Espindola | PTS | 6 | 29 Jul 2023 | Telford International Centre, Telford, England | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko | PTS | 6 | 15 Apr 2023 | Copper Box Arena, London, England | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Ramon Alberto Ibarra | KO | 1 (4), 0:35 | 25 Mar 2023 | Telford International Centre, Telford, England | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Marcel Bode | KO | 1 (4), 0:23 | 28 Jan 2023 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
References
edit- ^ "Boxing record for Moses Itauma". BoxRec.
- ^ a b c d e f Taylor, Declan (14 April 2023). "Tick, Tock: Moses Itauma is a young heavyweight in a hurry". Boxing News. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d talkSPORT Boxing (23 July 2024). 19 Year Old Moses Itauma BELIEVES He Will Be The Future Of The Heavyweight Division! 🥊⭐. Retrieved 27 July 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Moses Itauma". Queensbury Promotions. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Heavyweight Hope Moses Itauma Wins Pro Debut". boxing247.com. 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Rising heavyweight star Moses Itauma wants to break legend Mike Tyson's record". irishmirror.ie. 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Explosive Moses Itauma Stops Ilja Mezencev In Two". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "Heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma hammers Mariusz Wach in two". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ "'Britain's Mike Tyson' Moses Itauma lives up to his moniker as he knocks out durable Mariusz Wach quicker than anyone has before". Talksport. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
External links
edit- Boxing record for Moses Itauma from BoxRec (registration required)