When he made his pro debut in January of 2023, heavyweight sensation Moses Itauma had set himself the lofty goal of breaking heavyweight legend Mike Tyson’s record as the youngest ever heavyweight champ. Tyson as we know became WBC heavyweight champ in November of 1986 by beating (and beating up) Trevor Berbick. Tyson was just 20 years and four months old when he did it.
Itauma really believed he could break Tyson’s record but he has now spoken about how “impossible” the goal really was. Itauma, who turned 20 years and four months old on Saturday, spoke with Steve Bunce on the BBC 5 Live Boxing podcast, and the southpaw with the 12-0(10) pro record said that although he was sincere in his quest of making history, that it wasn’t a mere ploy in order to drum up publicity, he never fully realised how the sport works.
“I was naïve” – Itauma reflects on his early goal to rewrite history
“When I turned professional it was about chasing that record. Now that record is off the books, I am just trying to take my time with it,” Itauma said. “In the first two months of me being professional, I realised that goal’s impossible. I was naïve when I said that. I said that before I turned professional. I didn’t realise how much you can’t control in this boxing game. You think, since I turned professional, the world champions have been Daniel Dubois, Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury. There’s no way in two years I would have put myself in a position to fight them.”
When we look back, it really was an amazing thing Tyson did, with him making truly stunning progress as a pro fighter. It is possible Tyson’s record will never be broken. As for Itauma, he is now determined to go on and become a great fighter, and he will have to do it in ways other than becoming the youngest ever holder of a major heavyweight title (the great Floyd Patterson still holds the record as the youngest lineal heavyweight champion, with him beating Archie Moore to win the crown, this at age 21 years and 10 months).
Itauma returns July 19 – “I want a tough guy with a good name”
Itauma will next fight on the Usyk-Dubois bill at Wembley, and he said to Bunce that he wants a “tough guy with a good name.”
“And they aren’t cheap,” Itauma added.
It has been quite tough for Queensbury to get Itauma the good learning fights he needs, with plenty of names said to have priced themselves out. It will be interesting seeing who is in the opposite corner from Itauma when he fights on July 19.