Itauma and the drain of comparison

Article first appeared at BigFightWeekend.com

As an ever larger cohort of fight fans are exposed to the prodigious talents of heavyweight Moses Itauma, the degree of comfort they feel with the media comparing him to the once imperious Mike Tyson will largely be governed by the plasticity of their thinking. Or put more simply, their age.

It isn’t a mirror Itauma sought, but promotionally his career has been benchmarked against Tyson as the narrative that he could become champion at a similar age hung heavy in early press releases. Or would have if people still wrote them.

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August 22, 2025 0

Come in 37, your time is up – Whyte and Itauma at a familiar crossroads

Article first appeared at BigFightWeekend.com

Every match made in a boxing career is, essentially, a crossroads fight.

Terminology widely applied to bouts between fighters on an upward trajectory and an opponent trying to arrest decline or prove it to be a false narrative. Crossroads fights tend to have something at stake for both parties subject to the grasp the veteran has on the remnants of his ambition and the potential that pulses beneath the novice’s bravado. The advantages of youth versus the assurance of battle hardiness.

Moses Itauma, aged 20, versus Dillian Whyte, 37 years young, possesses all the elements required to earn the crossroads moniker and is the latest in a long line of prospects facing off against an established name.

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August 13, 2025 0

On the shoulders of giants. Moses Itauma

Article first appeared at BigFightWeekend.com

A biblical name. Laden with promotional opportunity. A southpaw with dynamite in both hands, Moses Itauma could be the next special heavyweight.

It is a familiar path, a familiar sales pitch. Young, powerful, fast. Crashing through the professional losers, the part-timers and then the vaguely known, to the peripheral, the stout, the sturdy and the once were. Busyness is the business. Accumulating highlight reel knockouts, interviews and brand recognition.

Building a heavyweight from a youthful prospect to contender to challenger to champion is usually done from this tattered but trusted blueprint. Evolved, such as it is, for these times of reduced activity and our deficit of attention, it remains rooted in a century or more of match making.

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