I'm impressed by Itauma's attitude,as you say his chin hasn't really been tested yet,if it holds up,he is the heir apparent to Usyk,imo.
Yup, inside the ring he's been faultless thus far, like an up and coming Mike Tyson really. And like Mike, the bigger test likely will be how he handles all the fame that's about to come his way – once he hits mainstream, his life will never be the same. Boxing's different to other sports too, where you're active most of the year. He's going to have gaps wide enough to be distracted by all that's coming his way, unless Hrgovic upsets him. Beyond that, he's a superstar in the making, but there will be some kind of trade-off.
AJ looked legit until he fought Whyte. There's been a doubt in most minds since Whyte rocked him early. Although the hype train kind of masked it for a while, Wlad knocking him over was another sign and Takam gave him nightmares for a while. All easy to say in hindsight. Soon find out about Itauma, all I meant was his rapid rise is at about the same speed. Amateur pedigree but not hundreds of fights like an Usyk or a Loma (or a Frazer Clarke at nearly 100). World title would be at roughly the same career point even if he's a bit younger. No doubt we'll hear Adam Smith saying "lift-off for Itauma" breathlessly but without the Sky/Matchroom hype it'll be pretty low-key. In the long run that's probably a good thing.
Plenty will agree with you mate, but I’m not one of them. Maybe I’m biased because of things I saw and the history around him, but I never rated Joshua coming through. Always felt there was less to him at his core than the hype suggested. Dillian always had his number outside the ring, but inside, Joshua was better that night. Had Whyte not come in with a bad shoulder, it’s possible he takes him out. What I will say though, getting up off the floor against Wlad and then taking him out was the high point of his career for me. Beyond that, he’s been Eddie Hearn’s masterpiece. Edit: Joshua’s got about as much substance as Sydney Sweeney, which in today’s world is no bad thing.
Joshua’s level of opponent through his first 14 (think Whyte was his 15th) compared to Itauma’s was absolutely nowhere near as good though.
I think we're agreeing more than disagreeing here to be honest. Whyte (injured as you say) gave him nightmares but for most people there hadn't been much to go on up until that point other than KOs. Fair play if you saw through him prior to that, can't say I did. Agree on the high point. For me the Takam fight is where people should have had major doubts - poor stoppage IMHO. My original point was really agreeing with your "Hearn's masterpiece" comment. Confluence of things with the Olympics, Sky, Matchroom FC and so on is unlikely to be repeated in this era.
I think most had major doubts after he scraped past Wladimir Klitschko who was at the end of the road and hadn't boxed in about a year and a half, a match in which he lost on 'home' turf. He was put over by Klitschko and the stoppage was less convincing than the other three times Klitschko had been knocked out as a much younger man. No clean shots landed in the stoppage. Klitschko was gassed after only a handful of rounds, so the ring rust and/or age was evident. Horrible corner advice from Vitali Klitschko also didn't help. The vulnerabilities were clearly on display and that match, nine-and-a-half years on remains, by far, his best win.
I always like a dabble on a bet with decent odds- I rarely back odds on favourites. I don't know what it is but I really can't get behind Itauma- I find him very unlikable. Be interesting to see how he gets on with a genuine top live opponent. I find Hrgovic's style can seem very lazy and disinterested at times and wouldn't be suprised if Itauma swarms him early on (possibly knocking him down) and ref calls it off when Hrgovic could have continued (and has gone on to win in the past). The most interesting thing for me would be if the fight goes past mid rounds. Again, I don't know what it is about Itauma but I really don't like him. He has looked great so far but Im just not a fan. Hopefully I will stop being a miserable twat and get on board at some point