Moses Itauma Breaks Out after Demolishing Dillian Whyte in 119 Seconds
Lewis Watson 
Impressed with Moses Itauma last weekend? Our boxing expert here at Free Bets is Lewis Watson and he certainly was!
In the ring where youth met veteran grit, Moses Itauma didn’t just win — he announced himself.
Saudi Arabia’s ANB Arena pulsed with anticipation as 20‑year‑old southpaw Moses Itauma, unbeaten, composed, and supremely confident, faced the wily veteran Dillian Whyte — 37, heavy with experience, and looking to resuscitate a career that had gone quiet.
What followed was lightning: the bell chimed, and Itauma’s feet danced like a middleweight. His jab, crisp and probing, already had Whyte off-kilter. Within seconds, Itauma brought him to the ropes with a left hand to the body, followed by a grazing left hook to the head and then unleashed a measured, brutal assault. A thunderous right hook finally sent Whyte tumbling to the canvas.
The boxing betting odds had Itauma as favourite, and they were certainly right.
After 119 seconds of the opening round, the referee waved the fight off — Whyte rose, but his legs betrayed him, and that was it. A new star of British and world boxing was born.
Itauma, barely breaking sweat, addressed the crowd in attendance. Who did they want to see him fight next was the question posed. They answered predictably with one name: undisputed heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk.
“Honestly, I'll fight anyone they put in front of me,” Itauma explained. “But if I’m being completely honest, Joseph Parker and [Agit] Kabayel do deserve their shot, but I'd love to take that opportunity [Usyk] as well.
“Chuck me in there with the lot. I'm only 20 years old. I've got maybe 10, 15 years left in this career. So, man, there's gonna be a lot of this face around. So I'm just happy to be able to put a performance on for you guys.”
Itauma’s promoter, Queensberry’s Frank Warren, has no problem championing the limitless ceiling of his charge.
“He catches you and he doesn't get flustered. He gets space on his shots. He doesn't fall into the opponent. Every shot he throws is a hurtful punch, and it's a well-measured punch. He's an unbelievable, unbelievable talent, an unbelievable boxing talent — probably one of the best, if not the best, at this stage of his career I've ever been involved with.”
The ‘retired’ Tyson Fury agreed. “Moses [Itauma] would beat [Oleksandr] Usyk now,” he claimed through a video on social media, once again baiting a reaction from the Ukrainian who holds two wins over the “Gypsy King”. The cynic might suggest that Fury is already positioning himself to be considered in future Itauma conversations.
Rushing Itauma into fights above his development will be tempting. The Ring Magazine “learned” from their paymaster Turki Alalshikh that Itauma versus Usyk is what the Saudi kingpin wants next — it’s now down to his team to temper these conversations.
Itauma has the heavyweight division in the palm of his hands. Past and current champions of the division including Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are all over 16 years the senior of the Chatham southpaw, so careful guidance over the next 18 months, in particular, could lay the table for a decade of dominance.
Whyte may not have proved to be the best indicator of where Itauma is at this stage of his career, but you can only beat what is put in front of you: he did that with flying colours.
Lewis covers boxing, as well as darts betting and snooker on Freebets, giving his opinions and tips for all of the big events.
This week, his focus now turns to snooker, where the Wuhan Open will be his next stop.
