Moses Itauma
British boxer (born 2004)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Moses Itauma (born 28 December 2004) is a British[2][3][4][5] professional boxer. At regional level, he has held the Commonwealth heavyweight title since 2025.
28 December 2004
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | Enriko Itauma 28 December 2004 Kežmarok, Slovakia |
| Height | 6 ft 4½ in (194 cm) |
| Weight | Heavyweight |
| Boxing career | |
| Reach | 79 in (201 cm) |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record[1] | |
| Total fights | 14 |
| Wins | 14 |
| Win by KO | 12 |
Early life
Itauma was born in Slovakia in the town of Kežmarok to a Nigerian father and Slovak mother.[5] He is the younger brother of light-heavyweight boxer Karol Itauma. He and his family experienced racism in Slovakia stating, "Me and my brothers got racially abused. It wasn't a good place to be."[5] Finally, the family decided to move to England, firstly to leave the racist environment they were in and secondly to search for new opportunities which Slovakia did not provide.[5] He was the last person in the family to move to England which was in 2008 and eventually he settled in Chatham, Kent.
Growing up, his favourite fighter was Prince Naseem Hamed. Itauma has since stated that he tries to implement elements of Hamed's style into his own game, saying, "I used to watch a lot of Naseem Hamed. I must have watched the same video of him about 50 times, I remember it was a highlight reel which started off with him dancing. He was one of my favourite fighters. I've got a different style from him but I do try to implement some of the things he used to do."[5][6] Itauma got into boxing at the age of nine through his brother Karol (who was an amateur boxer at the time) who then invited him to the boxing gym one day.[6] However, after a few hard boxing sessions, he switched to playing football with his other brother Samuel.[6] Later on, he switched back to boxing at St Mary's ABC in Chatham, Kent, after finding football boring.[5][6]
Amateur career
Itauma had an unbeaten amateur career, turning professional with a record of 24 wins with 11 wins by knockout. He claimed gold medals in Schools, Juniors, Youth European and the Heavyweight Youth World Gold Medal.[7]
Professional career
Early career
Itauma made his debut on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Anthony Yarde on 28 January 2023, at the Wembley Arena. He beat Marcel Bode in his debut via knockout after just 23 seconds.[8]
Itauma had aspirations for breaking Mike Tyson's record for being the youngest heavyweight champion in history, but he later described how it was just two months into his professional career when he realised that goal was "impossible."[9][10]
Itauma won the vacant WBO Intercontinental heavyweight title with a second-round stoppage victory against Germany's Ilja Mezencev on the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk bill in Saudi Arabia on 18 May 2024.[11] He retained his title with another second-round stoppage win, this time over Polish boxer Mariusz Wach at The O2 Arena, London, on 27 July 2024.[12][13][14]
In his next bout, he stopped Demsey McKean in the first round on 21 December 2024, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of the undercard for the heavyweight world title rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury.[15][16]
He was voted The Ring's 2024 Prospect Of The Year.[17]
Itauma knocked out Mike Balogun in the beginning of round two of their fight at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on 24 May 2025.[18]
Rise up the ranks
Itauma vs. Whyte
On 16 August 2025, he defeated Dillian Whyte by first round stoppage and won the Commonwealth heavyweight title at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[19][20]
Itauma vs. Franklin
Itauma faced Jermaine Franklin at Co-op Live in Manchester on 28 March 2026 and won by knockout in the fifth round; it was Franklin’s first loss by knockout.[21] Ahead of the bout, Itauma hoped a longer fight would showcase his stamina.[22] The fight was originally scheduled for January 2026 but was postponed after he was injured during his training camp.[23]
Following a dominant performance where Itauma put Franklin down in the 3rd round, Itauma won by knockout in the 5th round.[24]
Professional boxing record
| 14 fights | 14 wins | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 12 | 0 |
| By decision | 2 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Jermaine Franklin | KO | 5 (10), 1:33 | 28 Mar 2026 | Co-op Live, Manchester, England | Retained WBA International and WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight titles |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Dillian Whyte | TKO | 1 (10), 1:59 | 16 Aug 2025 | anb Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Retained WBA International and WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight titles; Won vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Mike Balogun | TKO | 2 (10), 0:46 | 24 May 2025 | OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland | Retained WBA International and WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight titles |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Demsey McKean | TKO | 1 (10), 1:57 | 21 Dec 2024 | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Retained WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title; Won vacant WBA International and Commonwealth Silver heavyweight titles |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Mariusz Wach | TKO | 2 (10), 2:30 | 27 Jul 2024 | The O2 Arena, London, England | Retained WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Ilja Mezencev | TKO | 2 (10), 0:50 | 18 May 2024 | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Dan Garber | TKO | 1 (8), 2:22 | 22 Mar 2024 | York Hall, London, England | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Michal Boloz | TKO | 1 (6), 1:00 | 1 Dec 2023 | York Hall, London, England | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | István Bernáth | TKO | 1 (6), 1:53 | 28 Oct 2023 | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Amine Boucetta | TKO | 1 (6), 1:33 | 23 Sep 2023 | Wembley Arena, London, England | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Kevin Nicolas Espindola | PTS | 6 | 29 Jul 2023 | Telford International Centre, Telford, England | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko | PTS | 6 | 15 Apr 2023 | Copper Box Arena, London, England | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Ramon Alberto Ibarra | KO | 1 (4), 0:35 | 25 Mar 2023 | Telford International Centre, Telford, England | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Marcel Bode | KO | 1 (4), 0:23 | 28 Jan 2023 | Wembley Arena, London, England |
Pay-per-view bouts
| Date | Fight | Country | Network | Buys | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 August 2025 | Moses Itauma vs. Dillian Whyte | United Kingdom | DAZN PPV | ||