Ukrainian undisputed heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk, has said Moses Itauma is the future of the heavyweight division, placing the young British prospect ahead of established names such as Daniel Dubois, Anthony Joshua, and Tyson Fury in terms of long-term potential.
Usyk, who has already defeated Dubois, Joshua, and Fury during his dominant reign at the top of the division, recently retained his world titles and extended his perfect professional record to 24 wins.
The 39-year-old has indicated he plans to have just three more fights before retiring, with a scheduled bout against kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in Egypt on Saturday as he targets an undefeated farewell.
Despite having beaten the biggest British heavyweights of his era, Usyk has singled out Itauma as the fighter he believes could shape the next generation.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said, “Moses Itauma, I think is a great fighter. Young. 20 years old. I think Itauma has a big future.”
Itauma, who is now 14-0 as a professional, has continued his rapid rise with a knockout victory over Jermaine Franklin in March 2026 at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.
The Kent-based heavyweight prospect, born in Slovakia, currently holds the WBA International and WBO Inter-Continental titles.
The teenager has already earned praise from Tyson Fury, who sparred with him in 2024 and later posted on Instagram: “@m.itauma (Moses Itauma) is the future of the heavyweight division.”
At the start of his professional journey, Itauma set ambitious targets, including breaking Mike Tyson’s long-standing record as the youngest heavyweight world champion.
He told The Mirror, “I want to become the youngest heavyweight world champion since Mike Tyson who was 20 years old.
“I need to take small steps but also ensure that I step up the tasks very quickly. I want to do short steps but not too much with them. Youngest ever world heavyweight champion is in my mid-term goals but it is something that I can believe I can achieve before 2025.
“It is not what I am thinking about right of this second, but I want to let that come once I have grown as a professional. I have gone from not having any press at all to this and it is crazy.
“I am in the right place because Frank Warren has all the other big heavyweights at the moment so I think I have a bright future.”
