In the strong opinion of a good many people in the boxing world, 20 year old British heavyweight Moses Itauma is the next dominant heavyweight. Not only a future world champion, Itauma is, in the opinion of some good judges, the very future of the sport’s premiere division.
Itauma, though, needs rounds. By his own admission, Itauma needs rounds, he needs experience. And to get him these two things, that are absolutely vital for all up-and-coming fighters, Itauma’s promoter Frank Warren says he would put his fighter in with man-mountain Martin Bakole “in a heartbeat.”
Speaking with The Ring, Warren said he would “one million percent” make this fight happen, this along with fellow promoters George Warren and Ben Shalom.
Can Bakole test the rising star—or is this another mismatch?
Southpaw Itauma, 11-0(9), will next face former linebacker Mike Balogun, 21-1(16) on May 24th in Glasgow, Scotland. To be brutally honest, there seems to be next to no chance Balogun extends Itauma, with him instead looking like a doomed foe in this fight. But next up, maybe, if a deal can be made, it could be Itauma Vs. Bakole.
Bakole, 21-2-1(16) has seen his stock drop more than a touch recently, this as a result of how he looked in his last two fights. Bakole, much overweight, was whacked out in a couple of rounds by Joseph Parker in February, this in a fight that saw Bakole step in at very short-notice. While last time out, against Efe Ajagba, a still-overweight (but less so) Bakole struggled to a draw that some people felt should have been a points win for Ajagba.
Bakole still has ambition to reach the top, so he says, at least. But in the opinion of some fans, Bakole lacks the desire and the work ethic to ever become a world champion. Maybe, if a nice payday were dangled in front of him, Bakole would take a fight with Itauma. It would for sure be an interesting fight/match-up.
First, let’s see if Itauma is taken beyond a round or two by Balogun later on this month.