Moses Itauma: A Million Times Better Than Joshua and Fury
Prince Naseem Hamed has never been shy with an opinion. Even by his standards, though, this is explosive.
Standing firmly in the corner of Moses Itauma, the former featherweight king insists Britain’s 21-year-old heavyweight is “a million times better” than both Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury – and predicts he will leave the era’s two defining big men in his wake.
On Saturday night at London’s O2 Arena, we begin to find out if he’s right.
‘On another level’
Itauma walks into the biggest night of his life with a spotless record: 14 fights, 14 wins, unbeaten as a professional and largely untroubled in the process. Across the ring will be Filip Hrgovic, Croatia’s seasoned contender, with an Olympic bronze medal, 21 pro bouts and only one defeat – to current WBO champion Daniel Dubois in 2024.
On paper, it is the classic step-up. In Hamed’s eyes, it is something else entirely.
“Moses is on another level to the likes of Tyson Fury and Tyson would say that himself. Tyson would not want to fight Moses and neither would Joshua,” Hamed told BBC Sport. “If they did I would say they are very brave.”
It is a remarkable statement, given the company. Fury, the two-time world champion who dethroned Wladimir Klitschko and twice climbed off the canvas against Deontay Wilder, has lost only to Oleksandr Usyk, twice. Joshua, the 2012 Olympic champion, has rebuilt more than once after four defeats in 34 bouts and remains a commercial giant and a live force in the division.
Hamed’s respect for them is clear – up to a point.
“I think Tyson Fury was amazing for British boxing and what he achieved, what he did and brought to the game and how colourful he was as a personality,” the 52-year-old said. “I think Joshua did an amazing job early in his career to win a world title and be an ambassador for British boxing.
“[But] I can’t compare Moses. He is a million times better than them.”
Chasing history, shadowing Tyson
Strip away the hyperbole and Saturday still carries real historical weight.
If Itauma beats Hrgovic, he will become the second-youngest heavyweight world champion in history, behind only Mike Tyson. The Chatham fighter would get there even faster than Joshua did, clinching a first world title in his 15th professional contest – one bout earlier than Joshua managed.
He will, however, fall just short of one record that belongs to the man backing him. Hamed became Britain’s youngest world champion when he dethroned Steve Robinson for the WBO featherweight title in Cardiff in 1995 at 21 years and 230 days. Itauma will miss that mark by just 14 days if he wins at the O2.
Hamed shrugs at the numbers. He is chasing something less tangible and, in his mind, far greater.
He calls Itauma a “special fighter” and talks about him with the conviction of a man who recognises a familiar obsession.
“Winning a national title as an amateur aged 11 and then having in your head all the way through your amateur career that you’ll be world champion at 21 – I visualised that. I think it’s very much the same for Moses,” he said.
“I’m so confident that Moses is going to be the heavyweight champion of the world. I’m so confident that he’ll defend that belt for as long as he wants.”
Hrgovic the underdog, on paper and in the mind
The betting markets and many observers still see Hrgovic as a live danger. At 34, he has mixed at a higher level, boxed more rounds, and carries the kind of experience that usually troubles young heavyweights who have yet to feel true crisis in a ring.
His only loss came against Dubois, now WBO champion, and he has long been regarded as one of the most avoided men in the division.
Yet the tone from Hamed is dismissive. He acknowledges the “test” only in the most technical sense.
“On paper it’s a test but I don’t think the night that we watch it it will be a test,” he said. “I think it’s going to be one of Moses’ easiest nights of his career and he’ll win a world title.”
That is the scale of the belief around Itauma – that a seasoned, dangerous heavyweight with an Olympic pedigree is being spoken about as little more than a launchpad.
A new throne in waiting
All this unfolds against the backdrop of a long-awaited showdown between Joshua and Fury, who have finally agreed to meet later this year in an all-British clash that will dominate the sport when it lands.
For a decade, the heavyweight conversation has circled those two names. One, the polished Olympic hero turned stadium attraction. The other, the mercurial showman who dragged the division out of the Klitschko era and into chaos and colour.
Now, as they prepare to face each other at last, Hamed is pointing past them, towards a 21-year-old south of the river in London, fighting for the IBF belt and a slice of history.
If Itauma just wins, it will be impressive. If he wins as easily as Hamed predicts, the landscape shifts.
Because then the question stops being whether he belongs alongside Joshua and Fury.
It becomes how quickly he can push them out of the way.
