Itauma has been tipped for big things in the sport, but as well as the pressure, the 20-year-old has admitted that his upcoming foe has kept him up at night
Dillian Whyte has sensationally kept Moses Itauma up at night – with the young Brit admitting that different scenarios have been playing out in his head.
The two heavyweight giants will headline a stacked card in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night. This is certainly a jump up in level for Itauma – who burst onto the scene after brutally knocking out Mariusz Wach in July 2024. The 20-year-old has since gone on to knock both Demsey McKean and Mike Balogun.
But Whyte is certainly no walk in the park. The 34-fight veteran is widely-regarded as one of the best heavyweight fighters on the planet on his day. That said, these past few years have been rather up-and-down for the ‘Body Snatcher.’ The Brixton native comes into the clash off the back of a win over Ebenezer Tetteh last December.
Given Whyte’s pedigree and record at the top level, he certainly has the ability to cause a monumental upset and derail the Itauma hype train. As for the 20-year-old, the Chatham scrapper is really yet to be tested inside the squared-circle. If the young Brit is not careful, he could end up suffering the first loss of his professional career.
Watch Itauma vs Whyte live on DAZN
Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte is set for Saturday, August 16, with Liverpool’s Nick Ball fighting Sam Goodman on the undercard.
Fans can order the full card on DAZN PPV for £19.99 or get it free with a DAZN Annual plan.
With all the hype and all the pressure, Itauma admits the thought of his upcoming adversary has kept him up at night. “Me against Dillian Whyte was keeping me up at night,” he openly revealed ahead of his main event showdown with the ‘Body Snatcher.’ “It was like, scenarios just playing out in my head and I feel like that might be a problem with a lot of people.
“The reason why they get so nervous and so anxious in their fights is because they are too focused on the outcome. I am not fussed about the outcome, I am fussed about me boxing to my gameplay. When I box to the gameplay, I know that I can beat Dillian Whyte. In turn, it is just going to be ‘cool, job is done. You have completed the equation.’ Whereas, if I do not do it, it is like ‘I have failed.’ I would not say I would be happy if I beat Dillian Whyte, but I know I would be disappointed if I do not.”
Itauma’s comments are nothing to be concerned about. The 20-year-old was quick to clarify his comments, admitting that he is playing out different scenarios in his head and realises the importance of his upcoming fight. Despite his explosive style, Itauma admits he vows to stick to the gameplan and not enter the ring ‘just to throw punches.’
“It is like… you know when you have that period of time before you fall asleep? You just have that period of time of just emptiness. The first thought that comes to my mind is the most important thing of my life right now, and that would be winning this fight,” Itauma continued.
“In my mind, the thing that comes to my mind is Dillian Whyte and how we are going to beat him. And there are just scenarios that play over in my head: ‘ok, cool, if he does this, so I can exploit that.’ It is not something that is keeping me up and I am afraid. It is just that I am planning the scenarios in my head. I think it is very evident that people know that I do not go to the ring just to throw punches, I use a tactic and I box to a gameplan. I am just going to do my best to execute it.”
Given Whyte’s experience in the ring, there are many who feel as if his best years are behind him, but Itauma – when picturing his rival at night – believes a ‘scary’ version of the ‘Body Snatcher’ will show up on fight night – with intentions of putting himself back into title contention.
“I think of a scary, mean looking guy who is ready to take my head off because I feel like that is what he is going to do,” he admitted. “I am ranked number one with the WBO. So a win against me is going to put him in there maybe like in contention with a rematch against Joseph Parker.”
