The 20-year-old prospect spoke about his experience sparring with Tyson Fury before his bout in May this year.
Earmarked as the future of the heavyweight division, Moses Itauma will fight Dillian Whyte on August 16th to push him to the next step on his heavyweight journey.
He has been known to face all the best heavyweights in sparring, and the ‘real deal’ started as young as 13, squaring off against grown men in the gym.
Itauma had been brought in to help Fury prepare for his fight against Oleksandr Usyk, which gave him an invaluable experience.
Moses Itauma revealed Tyson Fury ‘taught him a lesson’ about sparring
‘The Wrecking Ball’ was asked to join Tyson’s camp for the first clash with the Ukrainian and impressed the Mancunian so much that he was brought back for the Usyk rematch.
Speaking to One on One Boxing in May this year, before his knockout over Mike Balogun in Scotland, the young star was asked what it was like to be around ‘The Gypsy King’.
Moses said: “It was a blessing I learned more outside the ring than I did in, asking him questions about life in general, that’s probably the biggest blessing. But he is a really nice guy.
“He does not. I went to Malta to spar with him, and I landed on a Monday. I was ready to spar on a Tuesday, and he sparred four times a week.”
When he’d rung the ex-WBC champion, he was surprised to find that he was not ready to spar as early as he’d expected, but he would soon regret his response.
“So I said, “Why not?” I said, “Why did you just call me to come this early if I’m not sparring?” And man (what a) mistake – I sparred every single day until I left,” Moses explained.
Itauma believed it was to ‘teach him a lesson’ about not ‘piping up’, but it did not sour his actual in-ring experience.
“But don’t get me wrong, I was holding my own in sparring. But it’s the fact that I’m not going there to prove a point, but I want to get some work as well. Those rounds were scrappy.”
Not only has he had experience with the 36-year-old British legend in the gym, but he also had a few rounds of ‘technical sparring’ with Anthony Joshua, which he’d said was very different from the AJ who knocked out Francis Ngannou.
Tyson Fury once gave his verdict on Moses Itauma’s chances at the world title
Moses left a lasting impression on Fury because in 2024, when he was asked about the prospect of the younger man becoming world champion, he gave his prediction.
When he spoke to Queensberry Promotions, he said: “I think he is a good kid, and in the past I have said that I do think he can be world champion.”
He’d also mentioned Jared Anderson could be a champion if he ‘kept his focus’, but since the interview, the American has seemed disinterested in boxing.
A knockout loss to Martin Bakole made his bid for a world title take a massive hit, and with only one fight since, fans are unsure if the 25-year-old Anderson will continue in the sport.