Frank Warren has compared Moses Itauma with Naseem Hamed while continuing to hold back the opponent who would show how advanced the 21-year-old heavyweight truly is.
“At this stage of his career, 21 years of age, he’s probably one of the most, if not the most exciting fighter I’ve been involved with since Naz. The speed he’s got, the boxing brain he’s got, the defense he’s got has been phenomenal,” Warren told talkSPORT. “It won’t be made straight away. I would make that in a few fights’ time, providing they both come through. When it does take place, it has to go on in the summer in a football stadium.”
The praise sounds enormous beside Queensberry’s matchmaking. Itauma is presented as an exceptional talent in every major area, yet Daniel Dubois remains a fight for the end of 2027 or early 2028.
Warren also admitted that Filip Hrgovic was originally selected to get Itauma some rounds. The bout became a vacant IBF title fight only after Oleksandr Usyk gave up the belt.
That admission removes some of the promotional shine. Hrgovic was not initially chosen as the most dangerous heavyweight available. Queensberry saw an experienced and durable opponent who might extend Itauma without carrying the same physical threat as Dubois.
Hrgovic can still ruin the plan. He is strong, experienced and capable of landing the right hand that repeatedly caught Dubois. His cuts, declining speed and difficult moments against David Adeleye also help explain why Queensberry believed this was the correct time to use him.
Frank Sanchez was another option. The IBF’s No. 1 contender accepted a step-aside agreement and is due to face Saturday’s winner in December. Itauma therefore has an opportunity to answer the Sanchez question quickly if he wins the title.
Dubois is the fight being deliberately pushed into the future. Warren’s comparison with Hamed makes that delay harder to reconcile with the claim that Itauma is already approaching greatness.
Frank Warren Delays Itauma vs Dubois Until 2027
Warren does not intend to match Itauma against Dubois immediately, even if both Queensberry heavyweights collect or retain world titles in their next fights. His preferred date leaves at least another year of parallel defenses before the promotion risks one of its leading heavyweights against the other.
The reasoning is based more on business than boxing. Itauma and Dubois are already close enough competitively for the fight to attract attention, especially if each owns a belt. More time gives Queensberry an opportunity to increase their drawing power and eventually move the event from an arena into a football stadium.
Keeping them apart also produces two heavyweight title headliners for DAZN. Each can top separate shows, generate television revenue and defend against opposition chosen for his individual career before the audiences are combined.
An immediate meeting would remove one champion from that arrangement while the event is still smaller than Warren wants. Waiting allows Queensberry to sell several title fights involving both men before collecting the larger payday.
Dubois Makes Waiting Especially Dangerous
The greater danger to the plan is Dubois. His career has included repeated swings in form since Joe Joyce stopped him in 2020. Oleksandr Usyk later stopped him, while Kevin Lerena dropped him three times in the opening round before Dubois recovered to win.
Recent victories have contained warning signs as well. Hrgovic repeatedly landed right hands and damaged his face before cuts ended their fight. Fabio Wardley then dropped Dubois twice, including during the opening seconds, before being stopped in the 11th round.
Those performances demonstrated Dubois’ resilience alongside his vulnerability. He possesses enough power and punch resistance to recover from serious trouble, but his fights regularly place him in dangerous positions.
The proposed timetable requires Dubois to win the Wardley rematch and continue defending the WBO belt through 2027. Treating him as one half of a future stadium event assumes a level of consistency his career has never shown.
Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder showed the danger of spending years preserving a heavyweight blockbuster. Unexpected defeats removed the titles and destroyed the original plan. Queensberry would be exposing its Dubois project repeatedly for another 15 to 18 months.
Itauma Still Needs The Right Fights
Additional bouts would allow Itauma to narrow the experience difference with Dubois. He has not been forced to think under pressure against a major puncher over the later rounds. Dubois has already endured difficult fights with Usyk, Hrgovic, Joshua and Wardley.
Time by itself will not provide that education. If Queensberry continues matching Itauma against opponents who fall apart within a few rounds, he may reach the Dubois fight older without being substantially more prepared. His development depends on the opposition selected between now and 2027.
Sanchez would supply a useful answer in December. His movement and counterpunching present a different test from the slower, more direct Hrgovic. Beating both would give Warren stronger evidence for the praise being placed on Itauma.
Delaying the Dubois fight may increase its financial value, but every additional defense gives the less dependable boxer another opportunity to lose. The belts may change hands before Queensberry reaches its preferred stadium date.
Itauma versus Dubois is not the promotion’s next major heavyweight fight. It is a long-term commercial project built around the belief that both men will continue winning.
Warren is asking the public to accept Itauma as a rare talent now while waiting another year or more for the Queensberry fight that would support the claim. The praise is immediate. The proof against Dubois has been scheduled for later.
