Perhaps no boxer left a better blueprint for how to navigate their career better than Floyd Mayweather Jr., a five-division champion, 2021 International Boxing Hall of Famer and box-office gold mine.
Rapidly ascending heavyweight contender Moses Itauma hopes he can say that he followed the same path as Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs), ahead of his fight against Dillian Whyte on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on DAZN PPV.
“He made a lot of money in this sport, came out with his brains intact, no damage and whatnot and nobody can say, ‘Yeah, I [beat] him up,” Itauma told The Ring’s Louis Hart. “That’s the career that I want. When people are insecure about themselves, they put a little doubt, a little bit of pressure on someone, hoping that they’re going to break because it makes them feel better.

“With Floyd Mayweather, he was such a good fighter. [He was] 50-0, people are insecure about that. People don’t want to accept that reality, so they put a bit of doubt and pressure on Floyd Mayweather to get him to crack just so they can feel better. I don’t look at it from that perspective. I look at it like, ‘Wow, he’s achieved a lot.'”

Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs) has quickly asserted himself as one of boxing’s best heavyweight prospects in recent memory with his dynamic speed, skill and power and can take a significant step in his development with a win over Whyte. The 20-year-old has won eight consecutive fights by stoppage, all of which have come inside the first two rounds.

Whyte (31-3, 21 KOs), though, is by far the most significant test of Itauma’s career. He has fought for the heavyweight title and has shared the ring with some of the better heavyweights in the world when he fought them before his sixth-round stoppage loss to Tyson Fury in April 2022. Whyte has won three straight fights since that defeat, though, the level of competition was subpar.

In his last fight, Whyte, 37, stopped Ebenezer Tetteh after the seventh round on Dec. 15.

Itauma, who is a 6-foot-4 1/2 southpaw and is ranked No. 1 (WBO), No. 2 (WBA), No. 6 (IBF) and No. 11 (WBC), could be in a position for a world title shot with an impressive win Saturday. That title shot, if it came to fruition in the near future, could come against undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs).
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh hasn’t been bashful about his intentions to make Usyk vs. Itauma should he get past Whyte. For Itauma, though, a chance to face the best heavyweight of this generation for all of the belts is the last thing on his mind.

“I’m not thinking about it,” Itauma said. “I’m not [thinking], ‘I wish that could happen’ because right now, I’ve got a serious contender like Dillian Whyte in front of me, but after, maybe.”