Moses Itauma has the potential for a 'historic career' | 'I would 100 percent accept a Daniel Dubois world title fight' | Boxing News

Moses Itauma has only just turned 20, but he is already one of the most feared prospects in the heavyweight division.

Demsey McKean was a world champion who had only lost once before meeting Itauma, and that loss came against Filip Hrgovic who was the mandatory challenger for the IBF title at the time.

McKean held on in the 12th round with Hrgovic, but couldn't get through the first with Itauma.

The young Brit tore through McKean, his feints and hand speed too much for the Aussie as he finished McKean with a devastating arcing left cross before they reached the two-minute mark in their fight on the undercard Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury rematch.

Itauma is keen to maintain his rapid progress and would welcome a world title fight with IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.

“If the fight was presented to me, I would take it, 100 percent,” Itauma said Sky Sports.

However, he believes that as he moves up the rankings, he will likely have to wait 12 months or more for a shot at a world title, noting: “From now on you have to be in a position to fight for the belts.”

“I actually asked Ben (Davison, his coach) about this,” he revealed. “If the opportunity came and we were fighting for the world title in the next year and a half, two years, would you take it? He said, 'yeah, sure.' I had to know that we were all on the same page here. “

Itauma also believes it is unlikely that he will cross paths with Oleksandr Usyk or Tyson Fury, both of whom are more than 16 years his senior.

“I don't think the fight would make sense for anyone, but you never know. The world could change in a year and I might be in a position for their fights. But I wouldn't really know,” he said.

“Tyson, Usyk and Joshua had three completely different paths and they all achieved the same thing, heavyweight champion of the world. You have to take your hat off to all of them and just admire and then take everything from each of them fighters and then put it at one.

“I wouldn't have been in this position a few years ago if it wasn't for them paving the way. Anthony Joshua, he was the first guy to break onto the British boxing scene again. I just have to be grateful.

“I kind of admire all the top guys. But I'm here to set my own path.”

Although he only celebrated his 20th birthday on December 28, Itauma was long ahead of his time.

While still a schoolboy, he sparred with world champions such as Lawrence Okolie and Anthony Joshua, raising eyebrows when he arrived at elite gyms still in his school uniform only to display boxing skills far beyond his years.

After passing his GCSEs, he went straight to fight Joe Joyce, an Olympic silver medalist who won the WBO interim heavyweight title.

“Everybody was looking at each other like what is this kid doing in the ring with him. But then when the bell rang, it was a whole different story,” Itauma recalled.

Although he added, “For me, I guess you can take a little bit from sparring, but when you get the crowd involved, 10-ounce gloves, no headgear, it's a whole different story. but not much.”

His trainer Ben Davison, who previously worked with Fury and currently with Joshua, is convinced that Itauma has all the tools to leave a legacy in the sport.

“There's always a but, and maybe, there's a lot of things to do along the way,” Davison said Sky Sports.

“It's hard to get there, it's even harder to stay. It is very important to keep his mind on track, stay focused and keep the main thing.

“But if he does the right things, I think there's a potential historic career on the rise.”