Moses Itauma has been touted as the future of the division for two years.
The young heavyweight has the opportunity to fully break into the mainstream of heavyweight boxing when he faces Dillian Whyte on August 16th.
Already, pundit Adam Smith has warned Whyte about Itauma, with the belief across the world that it could be a sickening finish from the 20-year-old sensation.
In an era of British heavyweight boxing, which has seen Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua dominate the conversations, something about the rise of this prospect gives a different feel.
Anthony Yarde says the rumours are true about ‘real deal’ Moses Itauma
If anyone needed any more convincing of his potential, the two-time world title challenger Anthony Yarde has spoken on his experience seeing the up-and-coming fighter in the gym.
In an interview on Cigar Talk, he said: “Just trust me, trust me, I’ve seen him sparring, I’ve seen him fight up close and personal from young.
“He showed me a picture he took with me when he was 13 years old, and he is bigger than me.”
The powers that be in boxing now want to see Moses compete against Oleksandr Usyk, but Tony Bellew blasted Turki Alalshikh for suggesting the Ukrainian.
Even at his young age, sparring stories against Britain’s top fighters have become a part of his mystique, and the ‘Beast from the East’ confirmed it is all true.
“I’ve seen him take guys apart in the gym, and again the rumours ain’t lies, he’s stopping big names in sparring, people don’t want to fight him, and he has got a very high skill (level).
“He’s like a middleweight at heavyweight, fast hands, skill set, he’s the real deal.”
Moses Itauma was in control against Lawrence Okolie in a sparring session at 16, claims retired boxer
The stories referenced by the 33-year-old are about the infamous sparring sessions against Lawrence Okolie when the next generation heavyweight was just 16 years old.
Not much is known exactly about what occurred, but former professional boxer Anthony Fowler revealed details of the fateful day in an interview with Boxing Scene.
He said: “I walk in the gym and there’s a kid there in a f- – -ing school uniform, I thought he was half-lost,”. “So I get up and say, ‘What are you here for?’ He went, ‘Sparring.’
“I went, ‘Who are you sparring with?’ And he went, ‘Lawrence.’ I said, ‘How old are you?’ He went, ‘16.’ I thought, ‘F- – -ing hell, God bless you, mate.’”
But he and other fighters in the gym were in for a shock when he stepped up to put in the work.
“Everyone said, ‘What the f- -k?’ Because obviously, Lawrence was not in control. He was a world champion, he’s normally in control of his sparring partners.
“So when this lad was like, this young boy, who was really on it, I was like, wow.”
All this prodigy and prospect talk could soon turn to real contender status with Usyk likely to have one more fight before vacating his belts, which gives the heavyweight division a hard reset.
Ranked number one with the WBO, winning is key to maintaining his position as he awaits the resolution of Joseph Parker’s mandatory shot at the champion.
But if Parker’s undisputed shot doesn’t materialise, he may have to take a fight with the future of the heavyweight division next.