Holyfield did often lean in and could be caught by that uppercut we saw from Itauma tonight. Who wins this matchup?
You are a good poster but this thread is way too early. AJ looked at least as impressive when he destroyed unknockoutable Kevin Johnson inside 2 rounds. Itauma is currently at that stage in his career. We still don't know anothing about his stamina and chin
Moses Itauma already being compared with Evander Holyfield? I'll be generous here. Even on a stylistic sense - this is a terrible fight for Itauma. Holyfield isn't someone that just stands there to be knocked about with no power like Franklin, he is an ATG for a reason.
Moses is getting a hell of a lot of credit for his recent wins. But he hasn't been tested at all really. Let's give the guy a few years before putting him in with the ATG s
Holyfield went 24 rounds with Lennox Lewis, 36 with John Ruiz, 32 with Riddick Bowe, 19 with Dwight Qawi, 14 with Mike Tyson, 12 with George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Sultan Ibragimov, Chris Byrd, Nikolai Valuev, Larry Donald, and 8 with Botha and Rahman. Now how is somebody who has went 213 rounds with these former world champions (besides Donald who was a rated world heavyweight contender for almost a decade anyways), has superb conditioning and is willing to die fighting in the ring going to lose with someone who needs a haircut real bad. Jokes aside, Itauma can be dangerous in the early rounds if he can disrupt Holyfield's rhythm early but he's going to get smashed by a right hand in round 8 and gets KO'd.
With the reigning crop of heavyweights on the verge of aging out, Itauma may, indeed, be the next big thing. However, as of now, he has only shown he has excellent power and a calm demeanor. We do not know if he can take a big punch or if he can go a lot of rounds with a quality, prime heavyweight. This is not to say Moses can't do these things, I am just saying we do not know if he can. In that light, it is currently hard to choose him over the ultimate boxing warrior. I am not an Evander fan but I can appreciate his toughness, tenacity and skill. At this point, I have to pick the Real Deal by mid to late round stoppage.