Moses Itauma is the man one day dreaming of being heavyweight king but he’s currently learning from some of the current royalty in the division.
The 19-year-old big hitter is on the fast track to the top with dreams of breaking Mike Tyson’s record of being the youngest world champion in the sport’s glamour weight class.
After a recent switch to train with Ben Davison in Essex, it means he’s now rubbing shoulders with Olympic gold medallist and two-time world champion Anthony Joshua. Itauma is not sparring with the elder statesman of the division but he is still getting invaluable advice.
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“Him being around, it’s not just inside the ring that it helps,” said Itauma.
“He has given me a lot of tips outside of the ring. Like little things on how to spend your money and the way to do things by getting a good lawyer and where to invest money.
“He’s opened my eyes up and I appreciate that.
“I go by the saying you’d never take advice off someone you wouldn’t swap positions with and AJ is in a very nice and comfortable position.
“Anything he does say to me then I will definitely listen. He’s been helping me inside the ring as well with tips but we haven’t sparred yet.”
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![Moses Itauma after his victory over Dan Garber, who has tipped the youngster for big things](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article32835221.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_Boxing-In-London-Chris-Bourke-v-Ashley-Lane.jpg)
Itauma has ignored Joshua’s advice before, though. After he won the World U18 Championships in 2022 then the pro game was destined with Francis Warren already lined up to manage him. Frank Warren would be his promoter but Joshua urged him to wait and try to qualify for the Olympics. But the Slovakian-born Brit switched to the pro game.
He’s now 9-0 as a professional with seven stoppages and plenty of excitement that he can go on to dominate at the top with wily veteran Mariusz Wach next up on the undercard of Joe Joyce against Derek Chisora on July 27. Davison is now in charge in the corner and Itauma believes the former trainer of Tyson Fury is having a big impact on his transition into being a professional fighter.
“When I first went to Ben, he said you need to work on efficiency,” he said. “I did a 10 round spar this week and I could still do more. Usually I’m four rounds into a spar and I’m huffing and puffing like a dog.
“He told me I was not unfit, it was just that I was inefficient. It’s simple things like that, ‘How can you push someone back without throwing punches’. It’s a simple thing but very key.”