r/Boxing • u/VioletHappySmile444 • 15h ago
Moses Itauma's next fight will take place in December with Kubrat Pulev being one of the names in consideration to be his opponent
https://x.com/BoxingKingdom14/status/1959544781954232716129
u/Loodyeyes 14h ago
Okay, we saw that he can beat the old guys no matter how good their past is.He should fight a younger, up and coming opponent now like Wardley and Adaleye.
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u/hi_imryan GGG’s snarky boy scout schtick 14h ago
Itauma vs Kabayel would be a great fight, but I’d imagine management for both will avoid it. Kabayel may be in a position to wait out a title shot.
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u/dingdangdoodaloo 5h ago edited 5h ago
Kabayel is interim champ. All he needs to do is sit tight and wait for Usyk to vacate and the belt is his. We’ve seen what happens to interim champs who take a punt - Joyce, Hrgovic - I can’t see his team putting him in with a young lion like Itauma and risking that.
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u/alex151111 14h ago
Wardley and Itauma share the same trainer, so that won't happen. Adaleye is a good shout, though.
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u/joe_the_cow 14h ago
Problem is their promoters are going to want top $ to put their guy in with him
Might not be a major issue though if the Saudis are bankrolling him
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u/TheFreeHawk12 14h ago
jalolov or richard torrez or teremoana jr would be great fights for him
they all have good amateur pedigree and are decently athletic
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u/AltKite Sunny Edwards Superfan 12h ago
Jalalov and Itauma aren't going to fight until there's a world title (probably multiple) on the line - I'm not a big advocate of marinading fights, but there's no point putting the best of the next generation in together this early in their careers. If those two (and maybe even Teremoana) turn out to be the real deal, you want to know that about both of them before they fight.
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u/pleasedontbanme47473 13h ago
I’m still not sure how to rate teremoana jr he passes all the eye tests so well but he needs to be in there with a live body (I’ve also been locked away from the outside months for the last 2 months so maybe something happened I’m unaware of? Or he hasn’t fought since the kambosos card
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u/mcfc_099 13h ago
In order who would be the best of the three and why? Also if you were in his management which three fighters would you have lined up and why?
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u/pleasedontbanme47473 13h ago
I like Torres and jalalov a lot besides those 2 the only other 3 in my mind would have to be Jarrell miller (very good test imo but if he has the goods should be able to take him out or win a UD) guido viannello or whatever his name is (I just suck with names) good boxer but I think he’s just a step under top 10 and while he’s dangerous it’s unlikely he gives any career altering problems and the last being few ajagaba very dangerous but could in my mind give itauma what he needs to establish himself in the division and to any boxing fans who know of him it’s a winnable fight but it would require lots of skill from itauma and a very good game plan executed with high precision that being said I haven’t been in the outside world since June 17th so take all of this with a grain of salt since I’m catching back up with boxing as of now
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u/baddymcbadface 5h ago
Shocked Pikachu face when we find out Pulev isn't as durable as he was 10 years ago.
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u/wonderbonder 13h ago
In all honesty. He already looks like a world class operator. Yes, he hasn’t been dragged to deep waters yet, but neither Wardley or Adeleye can bring him there.
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u/_Sarcasmic_ October 11th 🦏 VS 🐻 15h ago
Won't happen is my prediction. Don King apparently has Pulev vs Hunter booked for October. There's no way he's gonna let Pulev fight someone else and there's no way Pulev is fighting again two months later. He just stopped Hunter from fighting Miller.
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u/VioletHappySmile444 14h ago edited 14h ago
Apparently Pulev's promotor managed to get the rights to his next fight due to the whole stuff going on with Hunter & Don
Pulev is now apparently no longer obligated to defend against Hunter and can now defend against anyone ranked by The WBA from what I heard
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u/_Sarcasmic_ October 11th 🦏 VS 🐻 14h ago
Expect Don King to try and sue for some reason. He'll find something, with him being one of the most litigious and scummiest people to ever have graced the sport. 😂
Best of luck to Pulev and his team.
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u/VioletHappySmile444 14h ago edited 14h ago
You expected correctly lol
He's threatening to sue if the fight doesn't go ahead on October 4th
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u/_Sarcasmic_ October 11th 🦏 VS 🐻 14h ago
HAHA, CLASSIC!
Called it. 😂
The funniest part is the line about them trying to ruin Hunter's career. He's 37 and has fought journeymen and cans for six years, and has only fought seven times in those six years.
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u/VioletHappySmile444 14h ago
Yeah Hunter's career has honestly been 1 massive disappointment these last few years with him doing nothing but fighting on small niche cards against cab drivers
I was honestly shocked when the Miller fight got announced cuz I was genuinely expecting to never see Hunter on a mainstream card again
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u/Fast_Original_3001 6h ago
Nah, that is not correct. Hunter is free to fight, the Saudis did hash that out. Miller pulled out of the fight.
Edit: nvm that‘s the last I had heard
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u/Worldly_Client_7614 14h ago
They should either chuck him in with someone who has a cast iron chin/ solid defense like a Jermaine franklin or a hrgovic or just skip to the actual point and put him in with Usyk
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u/Equal-Committee-6495 13h ago
Usyk will beat him and it won't be close All these casuals of this sub are ready to throw him in with usyk and they don't know enough to realize what a mismatch that is ...
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u/Culzean_Castle_Is 12h ago
he should fight jared anderson
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u/nwordfyou 8h ago
Good Idea. Itauma needs to fight someone who's actually going to punch back and come to win and win rounds.
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u/FreshPrinceOfRivia Ryan García destroyed Devin Haney and you can't change it 14h ago
Why in December? Pulev is less dangerous than Whyte. They may as well fight next month, and find a better opponent for December.
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u/GomaGoesFishing 14h ago
Yeah.. he won a fight without taking a single punch. He should be ready again with a very short training camp. Waiting until December feels pointless
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u/kushmonATL Inoue and Crawford up next in Sept 🔥💪🏾 15h ago
Can Moses fight somebody who is not washed ?
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u/Seandelorean 15h ago
To be fair I don’t blame his team for trying to get some more rounds in before he fights the top guys, hasn’t had to go past round 2 against anyone in the top 100 yet
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u/SpunkMonk87 14h ago
True that. Also he is slowly becoming a new household name and a prominent figure in British heavyweight boxing. His last 2 fights gained over a million views on DAZN, so I don’t blame the matchmakers giving some big but washed names to add to his resume.
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u/A1_PunisherPipkins 14h ago
Other 20 year old prospects are fighting journeymen with losing records. No reason to rush Itauma with a top 10 opponent this early in his career.
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u/crimedawgla 11h ago
Yeah, I’m of two minds. On the one hand, he’s got 13 pro fights and he’s fucking wrecked dudes, he could easily step up and start fighting the back end of the HW contenders and be favored. On the other, he’s 20. There’s no rush, fight a few more former contenders who are clearly passed their prime but hope they have a little more fight in them than Whyte.
As a fan, I want him to rush into contention, but as his team, there isn’t a huge value in rushing him unless they think a) Usyk will take a fight in the next year or so and b) Moses could conceivably beat him… I’m skeptical.
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u/Sometimes-funny 8h ago
Problem is, the heavyweight scene could be dead when he’s ready. It pretty much is now tho tbh.
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u/crimedawgla 8h ago
Eh, dunno about that, guys will come up. There is less action though when you have an undisputed who doesn’t look to have any weaknesses, when the belts are scattered you can make more guys take risks. And Fury retiring was lame, because he still clearly has it and it would be fun to see him against some of the contenders. But Usyk will retire and the belts will scatter, guys’ll wake up and try to step on each other’s heads to get a strap, some of the prospects will pop, a high level cruiser or two will come up (Jai…), and the division will be competitive… tbh the worst thing would be if Moses really is that dude and just dominates his way to the top and then only fights every 14 months or something.
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u/Sometimes-funny 8h ago
Yeah i was being a bit over the top. I just had a vision of it being like the Klitschko’s days for a while after Usyk goes
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u/dgvfatmeerkat Fury is ducking Chisora 14h ago
Pulev is in line to be promoted to WBA champ if/when Usyk vacates so it makes sense
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u/WRXSTl r/boxing fetishizes slavic men + Bivol 14h ago
He's so scared of Richard Torrez.
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u/CockchopsMcGraw 14h ago
Mate you need your eyes tested if that's what the eye test is saying to you
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u/JimJonesdrinkkoolaid 13h ago
A 44 year old Pulev who isn't particularly durable would be a very disappointing option.
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u/Lefty250 14h ago
I won’t be surprise if this guy goes into a retirement center and beat the shit out of every old person there
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u/ShearAhr 13h ago
I love how they keep saying they want rounds but keep picking ancient people to fight.
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u/whalejump 13h ago
Can't be headlining anymore with fights like this still there's a step up. 1 round main events = buyers remorse. Not again!
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u/Dim-Mak-88 13h ago
The kid is 20 years old, he can fight whoever he wants. Ruiz, Pulev, Miller, it doesn't really matter at this point as long as it's not a complete joke.
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u/Fluid_Ad_9580 11h ago
Put him in with Usyk 😂😂 honestly some folk in this sub are fucking deluded casuals who aint got a clue about boxing they should stick to watching WWF.
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u/Complete_Dare_4201 14h ago
Pulev or Ruiz now and Hrgovic later in early 2026 would be nice... Then Usyk if he destroys both
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u/Dave2kMA 10h ago
Itauma doing the lord's work clearing out the driftwood of the heavyweight division by sparking all these dudes that should have retired 5 years ago.
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u/RussianChechenWar 14h ago
Stop fighting old dudes…
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u/stephen27898 3h ago edited 2h ago
The dude hasn't even had 15 fights. He's 20.
This is Mike Tysons 13th opponent.
This is his 14th.
AJs 13th and 14th BoxRec: Kevin Johnson BoxRec: Gary Cornish
Ali's 13th and 14th BoxRec: George Logan BoxRec: Billy Daniels
Lennox Lewis's 13th and 14th BoxRec: Mike Acey BoxRec: Jean Maurice Chanet
Tyson Fury 13th and 14th BoxRec: Zack Page BoxRec: Marcelo Nascimento
Wladimir Klitschkos 13th and 14th BoxRec: Marcos Gonzalez BoxRec: Jerry Halstead
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u/Elegant_Brick5603 14h ago
Fights better competition than almost anyone 20 year old, yet everyone wants to complain.
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u/A1_PunisherPipkins 14h ago
Exactly. I don't thunk many people know he's only 20 because he looks so much older. This is a good fight for him, no reason to rush him in with a top 10 guy. Pulev is washed but he'll still give him some good rounds.
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u/joe_the_cow 14h ago
Good step up for Itauma. Enough name recognition to appeal to the casuals
If it does get made that'll be his 4th fight in a calendar year. Pretty active for a heavy.
After this fight in Dec wouldn't mind seeing him in against couple of top 10 ranked heavies in May/Oct 26 then onto a world title fight early 27
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u/keisermax34 6h ago
He’s ducking Hughie Fury.
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u/stephen27898 2h ago
Why would he want to make a fight with a guy who has a 90% chance of pulling out?
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u/JimJonesdrinkkoolaid 13h ago
Hrgovic are the ideal opponents. With Parker particularly if Usyk vacates the WBO belt.
Then we can see how good Itauma is and then if he comes through that with flying colours match him up with Usyk.
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u/stephen27898 3h ago edited 2h ago
I love how you can so easily tell who is a casual in here.
Anyone with an ounce of boxing knowledge wants them to take time with Itauma.
You then see the casuals screaming "Usyk, Hrgovic, Dubois".
The guy is 20 with 13 fights. Give him some time. We have plenty of time for big fights. Lets not rush him and fuck it up.
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u/Complete_Dare_4201 1h ago
I find it funny that its usually Usyk's hardcore fans that want to see Itauma slow down his pace of progression, when he is clearly show he can move up the rankings faster. Something tells me that they want Usyk to rush to retirement and not face Itauma at all, robbing everyone of one of the most intriguing matchups that can be made just because there's a small chance Usyk loses (whereas there is no chance in hell he loses to Parker or even Kabayel, though the last one is indeed a more more interesting matchup).
For comparison... Usyk fought for a world title in little more than two years as a pro and into his 10th pro bout, I believe. He challenged for Joshua's titles after only two fights at heavyweight. I don't care how older he was and the fact that he was an olympic champion, Itauma is clearly showing he can move just as fast, so why not?
I want to see Itauma challenge Usyk's undisputed title before the later retires, its one of the most exciting and intriguing fights that can be made right now.
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u/ewenmax 46m ago
Usyk had 335 amateur fights, Itauma 24.
Usyk has done the hard hours and deserves to pick whoever he wants as his swansong fights.
Itauma is fast and has good ring IQ, but he's yet to get clipped and forced into recovery mode.
He's got great potential, but even his most ardent fan cannot seriously think he's the finished article. Pulev is older than Whyte. If Itauma fans want a serious fight, put him in against Dubois.
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u/ZVreptile 14h ago
Kabayel fight seems most appropriate imo
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u/Chadoodling 10h ago
No, Kabayel is already in-line for a title shot IMO. Itauma should fight a Frank Sanchez, Jared Anderson, Bakole level of fighter first.
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u/cdisdead 13h ago
He's beaten one guy in the top 50 and now you want him to fight arguably the 3rd best heavyweight in the world
Cool
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u/iwasbornin1992 The Hood Knows 12h ago
Chisora/Joyce/Dubois would be a great test and sell pretty well domestically I would imagine.
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u/Bochianibrothers 6h ago
Why are we still feeding him old boxers? Why can't he fight someone in the top 10? And don't say he's not ready. That's a load of crap.
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u/stephen27898 2h ago edited 1h ago
Because he is 20 and only has 13 fights. Why does he need to be rushed?
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u/Bochianibrothers 1h ago
Why not? Mike Tyson was a reigning champion in his early twenties. If he's got the skills and the athleticism now why not make the use of it?
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u/stephen27898 1h ago edited 1h ago
Do you know how weak that era was? Mike Tyson to win his first title got to fight Trevor Berbick. Trevor Berbick today wouldnt be getting within earshot of a world title.
Mike Tyson before fighting a weak champion had something like 27 fights, not 13. He's 20, his athleticism wont just vanish.
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u/Bochianibrothers 1h ago
This mentality is what's wrong with boxing today. People not willing to challenge themselves when they're in their prime. That's why boxers like Ennis and andraide.
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u/stephen27898 1h ago
Itauma isnt in his prime. He is 20.
Most fighters actual prime doesnt start until their mid 20s.
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u/Bochianibrothers 17m ago
You don't know that. You're just assuming these things. And to your point about how many fights itauma has had. How many fights did Inoue and lomachenko have before they won their first title? And to your point about age. How old was Leonard, Hearns or even Pacquiao when they won their first title?
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u/stephen27898 13m ago edited 6m ago
Loma had a nearly 400 fight amateur career and was 25. Inoue had a 81 fights amateur career. Itaumas was like 25 fights.
Ray was 22-23, not 20. Hearns was 22, not 20.
Why rush?
I can say with almost 100% certainty based on the face that Itauma has such a low number of competitive fights and is so young that he is not in his prime and has loads of room for growth. Lets not rush him and ruin that. Lets take 2 or so years and then look at moving him to world level.
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u/MonotonousBeing 4h ago
Why not Zhilei Zhang or Gassiev, Wallin?
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u/stephen27898 2h ago
Why those guys?
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u/MonotonousBeing 2h ago
I figured they‘d be more difficult to beat than Pulev, better for Itauma to prove himself, maybe it would not make much of a difference with them at the end and IIRC Pulev got a belt
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u/stephen27898 2h ago
He is 20 with 13 fights. Why does he need to be taking massive steps up at 20 with so few fights?
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u/MonotonousBeing 2h ago
Rationally speaking, yes, that‘s true. I think I am just excited to see his full potential as soon as possible. Does not help that matches are unfortunately once or max twice a year
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u/stephen27898 2h ago
He has fought 4 times in the last 13 months. 5 times in the last 15.
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u/United-Minimum-4799 3h ago
I'll tune back in when they match him against a solid opponent who isn't geriatric. Who wants to see Itauma vs a 44 year old Pulev?
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u/RRR04_ 14h ago
They're looking to fight Pulev because he's got the WBA Regular belt. And Usyk is close to retiring so the Regular champ would become Super champ if Usyk does retire.