Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte - Aug. 16th

But let’s have it right, Whyte and his ilk have no place in this sport, he’s a multi time drug cheat and he should be banished form this sport.

 

Very much so. People seem to forget about the Joyce V Dubois fight.

Whyte is a significant jump from the likes of Wach and McKean who were washed up good journeymen at best.

Whyte was a strong challenger fairly recently.

 

I'd very much have thought you would be backing Whyte to get the win.

I'm 50/50 on it - for me Itauma's opposition has just been so poor.

 

If Whyte wasn't so faded and shopworn I certainly would.

But even though he's declined, he's still likely to be a big step up - not least in power, if something connects.

At the same time...
There's a reason they're making this now - it's a big step up, but Itauma is seen as a prized asset and potentially a future champion, they're not going to throw him away on a fight they're not confident he can win.

At the same time, Dubois was in a similar position when they put him in with Joyce - it isn't unheard of for prospects to get put into risky fights and fail... And it's not necessarily the end of them if they do, as Dubois shows - if they've got it, they'll get there in the end.


I'm with you, Itauma's opposition so far hasn't been anything special - if he'd been through a genuine gatekeeper then I'd back him here without much hesitation, but we just don't know yet how his chin will hold up to a big punch, or how his stamina would hold against a live dog...
But a lot depends on how much of a live dog Whyte actually is - how much he's got left, how determined he is to train hard and be in shape to be competitive here, etc.


If Whyte looks like he has recently and Itauma is anywhere near as good as claimed, this should be almost in the bag...

All I'm saying is, I won't be shocked if Whyte turns back the clocks and/or Itauma turns out to not quite be as special as claimed.

 

Sure - as I say, it read that way... That doesn't necessarily mean it's what you intended or think.

Up to a point, sure - it doesn't really make sense to practice a style that you don't think will work when you get to better opponents, though, so I doubt he'll change too much.

There's always a risk that you lose something if you do give a bit more respect, and the effects of that could be amplified against better opponents.

Anthony Joshua is a good example here - when younger, unbeaten and aggressive he was convincing... But once he started respecting his opponents a bit more, he seemed to get caught between the gears sometimes and even though he usually he got the job done he didn't look as convincing as his younger self.


I guess what I'm saying here, really, is we don't really know whether he'll try to change or adapt - and whether he does or doesn't, how far he can go.

Absolutely, hopefully he'll get there because the contenders of the next era have to come from somewhere or it'll be boring!

I'm just not counting him as there until we've seen more and had more questions answered.

Agreed, he looks most promising of the prospects that have a long way to go... Time will tell, though - as I say, he wouldn't be the first or last to look incredible up to a specific point and then hit the wall HARD.

 

We had legitimate threads talking about Joe Joyce vs prime Mike, so we'll see, I think Itauma struggles more than he has before, late stoppage or points win for him. Giving Whyte a 20% chance for a lucky shot and we haven't see Itauma under pressure

 

I think he turns up, but what are his motivations to do so. Most likely, he is there to make Itauma look good, basically taking the role of Martin in the Anderson fight (who looked like he pumped the breaks instead of beating the prospect). On the other hand, it is interesting Whyte is working with Warren again after the Fury debacle. Maybe Whyte is actually going to legitimately try to win. Whether Whyte can or not is a different question. I think him just no showing would be a petty revenge on Warren that could backfire spectacularly; especially, given Warren seems to be the main promoter in boxing now---so I doubt he just no shows (pulls out injured last minute).

I think this is an interesting fight. Even if Whyte is just there to make Itauma look good, hopefully that doesn't mean lay down at the first sign of adversity and he is there to push the young fighter. And if Whyte decides he isn't there to make Itauma look good, even better

 

I didn’t mean he won’t turn up in the fight, I mean if he doesn’t get popped or pull out through injury, I mean he’s got people speaking his name again off the back of this fight, but a bad loss here all but ends his career, I don’t know what he’s getting paid but for me ituma looks far to precise of a fighter to not take a rusty Whyte apart, the power he has is almost irrelevant, Whyte is notorious for leaving gaps and letting his chin hang out, for me the best thing to do is pull out late make excuses ituma is on a different trajectory so the fight won’t get made again but it has made people think about him again, if he gets smashed to bits then he will be done. He’s a cheat and should not even be allowed to box again anyway

 

Whyte’s punch resistance has diminished though. If Joyce didn’t have a good chin he would have absolutely been knocked out by Dubois as he took some bombs on the chin. Also Joyce was definitely at a much higher level in 2020 than Whyte is in 2025.

I think Itauma facing a Hrgovic or Bakole now would more likely result in a Dubois vs Joyce situation right now. I still hope Whyte can test Itauma though.

 

Whyte is far more experienced and proven than anyone Itauma has beaten. People are really underestimating Whyte here.

But yes. if Whyte is that washed up then Itauma should beat him, but if Whyte is still close to his prime then I'd back Whyte here.

 

Have to agree it really depends on how much Whyte really has left. If Whyte is washed up then Itauma should win but if Whyte is close enough still to his best days then I'd say otherwise.

I was rather surprised Itauma's team felt he was ready for such a step up from the likes of Wach and McKean suddenly to Whyte.

 

Indeed.

Either they know something we don't about Whyte, or the money is really good... Or they just think Itauma is ready and are willing to take the risk that Whyte has a good night by his recent standards.

Or maybe they're keen to build Itauma's name up (casuals know Whyte, not so much Itauma) and start getting him into bigger fights now.

We'll find out! Fingers crossed!

 

Apparently Whytes first born son is older than Itauma.