It was fabled broadcaster Larry Merchant who once described the sport of boxing as “the theatre of the unexpected”.
However, when it comes to elite British heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma, there feels a sense of inevitability about his rise to the very top of the sport.
The powerful and exciting 19-year-old is 8-0 (6) since turning professional and is set to box on the Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk undisputed bill in Riyadh on May 18.
As an amateur, he won gold at the Schools, Juniors and Youth Europeans before becoming World Youth Amateur Champion in Spain in November 2022.
One man who witnessed his meteoric rise as a junior close up and personal is former National Performance Coach for England Boxing John Stubbs, and we caught up with Stubbs to get the lowdown on Itauma.
Eights wins and six early since he turned over in January 2023. Is the hype for real with this fella?
I truly believe the hype is real. I think it was 2016 or 2017 there was a Schoolboy European Championships and I think he boxed three times to win it. It will have been under 80kg at the time, which was the heaviest weight for juniors. I think he beat the Russian, the German and the Ukrainian to win Gold and I remember just thinking when he won the final “F***ing hell, what a superstar”. There were loads of parents watching and I was actually in the crowd as I had finished my coaching duties for that day and I just turned to some of the parents next to me and said, “You’ve just seen a star being born here”. I honestly believe that since he was 12 years old, he has been destined for greatness.
I know that might sound like I am over-egging him but I genuinely believe that if he stays fit, stays on it and maintains the current mindset he has, he will be an absolute superstar. I do not even think his performances so far as a pro have shown what he can really do. I think we have seen only about 75% of what he is capable of.
He turned over with his amateur coach, but he had a family and a job so now I know he is trying a few professional coaches, so he is still not totally settled. Once he is, the sky’s the limit and you are really going to see the best of him.
What are the technical qualities you noticed when working with him as National Performance Coach?
You know what it is with Enriko - I know his name is Moses but he has always been Enriko - what you find with young heavyweight lads is, because there is not many of them about at the weight, they don’t have that many bouts and as a result they are never that good technically when they are juniors. Fighters between 57kg to 75kg as juniors - those in that weight category get loads of bouts as there are loads of them about so they can box each other.
But someone as big as Enriko, he would really struggle to get matched (in the juniors). Actually, the first time he ever boxed for England, he had only had three bouts. And I think in total he boxed 27 times as an amateur - which isn’t a lot at all - and he didn’t even move to the seniors.
But I think only four or five of those 27 fights were for his club and the rest were internationals with England. Again, that is because they don’t get the opportunity to box very much as there are not too many about at that weight.
Technically though he was as good as fighters in the lower weights who’d had 30, 40, 50 bouts. It’s just natural. He’s really intelligent when it comes to his boxing. He knows what he wants.
He’s really strong minded. For example if someone suggests a new way of doing something, or a new tactic, he is very strong headed and likes to do things his way, but he will eventually process what has been said and incorporate it. Quick learner, he is very intelligent at what he does and he is always looking for new ways to be better. His technical ability is as good as anyone’s and his boxing IQ is also really good.
You will have taken some huge punchers on the pads over the years. Where does Moses rate in terms of power?
I’ve obviously worked with heavyweights and seniors over the years and even as a youth (he never boxed as a senior amateur) he was a massive puncher, an absolutely massive puncher. I’ve still got bad elbows from two years ago when we did back-to-back camps for the Europeans and then the Worlds. Trust me he is a monster, an absolute monster. He is actually right-handed. He boxes as a southpaw but he is naturally right-handed.
His jab is strong and his backhand is very powerful. Am not going to lie and say I’ve taken elite heavyweights on the pads but I have taken very strong seniors and pro heavyweights (on the pads) and trust me Enriko is something else.
We understand he was unbeaten as an amateur? How good was he in a vest?
As an amateur, what was it - 27 contests, 27 wins? I don’t know how many by stoppage. It’s hard to sort of compare him to anyone as a senior as he never boxed as a senior amateur and it is a different game but he was kind of left with a choice; does he try and go for Olympic qualification? Or does he try to chase the (Mike) Tyson record and become the youngest heavyweight champion of the world?
It was a choice he had to make. Delicious Orie has qualified now for GB at the Olympics but Enriko could have stayed amateur and tried to box for his spot. In the amateurs though, anything can happen. A little knock or a little injury can derail years of work - as you are working to such a tight schedule - and once that qualification spot had gone, if something like that happened he would have felt he had made the wrong choice. Obviously there’s a lot of money involved as well when top prospects turn pro so that’s always nice for him, but as far as a Schoolboy, Junior and Youth there is nobody to compare him to as he did that much and was so dominant.
He won one Schoolboy European, one Junior European and one Youth European title. Now, had it not been for COVID, I would imagine he would have won one Schoolboy, Two Juniors and two Youths (at European level). But his second year as a Junior was missed and his first year as a Youth was missed (due to the Pandemic) so he only had the chance to box for those titles once each.
He actually won the Youth Europeans - he had to win five bouts to win Gold - and he stopped everybody. I don’t think it’s ever been done before where there has been a stoppage in each round of the competition at that level.
In the Worlds, he was ill and he looked like s*** if I am perfectly honest. He was really, really really unwell and we were all a bit worried - yet he won the World Championship. He was probably operating at 50% or 65% for that whole tournament and he still managed two stoppages and two unanimous points decisions, so that just shows you how good he is.
Any moments stand out for you - either watching him sparring or in competition - while on England duty?
As far as standout moments are concerned, that first win in the final of the Schoolboy Europeans - it was like ‘Wow’ this kid is something special.
Someone seeing him for the first time would obviously look at his skillset and say ‘that’s brilliant’ or ‘look at this’. But following him on his journey you almost stop noticing it, as it (the brilliance) was constant.
He has just been phenomenal and in a strange way, you only noticed the days when he was not boxing like a complete superstar rather than the days he was, as he boxed to such a high level and was so consistent with it. You just expected him to do the business. And sometimes I think that was hard for him as there was a lot of pressure on him all the time.
I know that in the Worlds when he was ill - genuinely poorly - the amount of pressure he was under must have been huge as he knew he was turning pro after the Worlds and he wanted to finish undefeated in the amateurs. I know he put a massive amount of pressure on himself as he was expected to win and he knew that everyone else expected him to win also.
Truthfully, his full career has felt like one, long standout moment. There are hundreds of kids who come through the England pathway every year, and a lot of them have a great tournament or a good run, but then take time out, go off the boil and in some cases may not re-appear and are lost to the game. Enriko, from winning that Schoolboy title in his sixth bout, from that point, you knew he was a star.
Out of the ring he doesn’t seem brash or arrogant. What was he like as a person during those England amateur days?
As for his personality outside the ring, he is just a proper nice person. People forget about how young he is as well, as he is such a big lump and is so good, but he is only just 19 and he is just a kid.
He is a bit naïve maybe too and not as worldly wise compared to other lads his age. He is still learning about the world, but he is a lovely person. Very family orientated. Thinks the world of his brothers and the absolute world of his mam - has a really good relationship with his mam. His dad has travelled all around the world to watch him box too.
He tries to put on a persona sometimes where he wants to look tough - and that’s understandable as in a boxing ring there are none tougher - but deep down he is a big softie.
He’s a good laugh, always up for a laugh and I think the only thing he takes seriously in life is his boxing. As a person, you can be around him and feel at ease in his company very easily.
Another young heavyweight Jared Anderson is getting the big sell in America right now. Do you think Itauma is a better prospect than ‘The Real Big Baby’?
It’s hard to compare the two because Enriko has had eight bouts in his first 12 months and is still only 19, while Anderson I think has had around 17 pro bouts and is a good few years older - I think he’s about 24.
But listen, I think Enriko can mix it with anyone in the world. You have to pace a professional career correctly, match fighters correctly as at the end of the day you want to allow them to learn their trade and to make money but I don’t think it will be long. They are both on their own paths. At some point, there is a real chance their paths might cross but at the minute Enriko is being brought along nicely. Obviously there has been a lot of talk about him beating Mike Tyson’s record as the youngest heavyweight champion in history.
He sort of said that tongue in cheek - but I do believe he has the self-belief that he can do it also and go down in history when he said it. However, for some context, at the time when that was said, it was either go to the Olympics or try and chase that record.
I think it’s been blown a bit out of proportion as some critics will make out if he doesn’t beat Tyson’s record it will be some sort of failure. But let’s be honest, if he wins a world title six months later, a year later or two years later - how can you class that as a failure? I think people are making a bit too much of that.
We know he’s been sparring Tyson Fury ahead of the Oleksandr Usyk undisputed clash. And he’s also done rounds with Anthony Joshua. He’s still a baby in heavyweight terms but how long - if he stays healthy - will it be before he’s boxing for big titles?
I don’t think it will be long before he is boxing for titles. He obviously cannot box for the British title yet because you need to be 21 to fight for it. He can box for the English title and that has been mentioned. Solomon Dacres carries the belt and he is unbeaten too, but while they have sparred I don’t really think (Dacres) will want anything to do with Enriko. The fact they have sparred is probably enough to put him off! But it’s one of them because his eyes are set on a world title, within the next six months he will be boxing for a WBC Silver title or something along those lines to start pushing him right up the rankings.
He has another 12 months to beat that Tyson record of course. Whether he can get it done in that time or not, I am not sure as it is a record that has really stood the test of time, but knowing Enriko I am sure he will give it his best go.
