Moses Itauma stands on the brink of history.
Aged 21, he is preparing to fight 34-year-old Croatian Filip Hrgovic for the IBF world heavyweight title. Victory would make him the youngest heavyweight to claim a world belt since Mike Tyson.
So, presumably, this is the dream?
“I know how Frank would want me to answer this,” Itauma says, smiling.
Frank Warren, Itauma’s wily promoter, is listening intently.
“But if I’m completely honest, for me, the journey is the destination. I just like being a boxer. I like the discipline it gives you. I like routine. There are so many upsides to being a boxer and I just like that.
“It just happens that I’m getting good and I’m getting to the title. Would I say it’s my dream? I don’t know. I just know that I like being a boxer.”
It is a typically understated response from a young man on the cusp of an extraordinary feat.
Itauma faces Hrgovic on Saturday night at London’s O2 Arena — also live on DAZN pay-per-view — with an opportunity to become the second youngest world heavyweight champion ever. Itauma might not be motivated by making history, but his talent has propelled him rapidly towards it.
While the rest of boxing seems in a hurry to herald Itauma as the new face of the heavyweight division — one which is in need of new blood — the fighter himself is focused purely on his craft.
Unsurprisingly, Warren is more comfortable placing the fight in context.
“This is a significant fight for British boxing, for British sport and, more importantly, for Moses,” he tells The Athletic.
The match with Hrgovic was initially made without a championship attached. Warren saw the Croatian as precisely the sort of opponent Itauma needed at this stage in his career: experienced, accomplished and capable of asking questions previous opponents had not. It would be, he says, “a tough fight, a learning fight.”
Moses Itauma faces up to Filip Hrgovic, with Frank Warren watching on (James Fearn/Getty Images)
But when Oleksandr Usyk’s abdication created the chance to turn this into a world-title contest, Warren and his promotions company Queensberry jumped at the opportunity.
“We’ve done that for a reason, because we believe in Moses. And I know he believes in himself.”
When the world title was added to the mix, Itauma was typically unflustered.
“The hunger to beat Hrgovic was there before it was even announced as a world-title fight,” he says. “I’m just as hungry as I was before. The world title is a bonus.”
This fight comes at an intriguing moment for heavyweight boxing. The names that once dominated the division — the likes Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder — are in the twilight of their careers. A younger generation is poised to take over.
Warren believes Itauma can be the best of that new generation.
“If he comes through this fight, as I hope and believe he will, then he will be,” he says. “There are some other youngsters around there. There are some really good fighters. But anybody I speak to in boxing — and I speak to a lot of people around the world — Moses is the name on their lips.”
Itauma fights under a British flag, but his father is Nigerian and his mother Slovakian (he was born in the town of Kezmarok in eastern Slovakia). He is not yet a household name. Beat Hrgovic, and that could change.
Becoming a champion is one thing. Becoming the face of heavyweight boxing is another. It requires not only winning fights but accepting everything that comes with them: attention, scrutiny, expectation and fame.
“I think that’s one thing where I’m still learning on the job,” says Itauma. “I’ve been boxing since I was nine years old, so I know a thing or two about boxing, but everything outside the ring is still new to me.”
Itauma acknowledges that facing Hrgovic constitutes a step up. As an amateur, Hrgovic was a bronze medallist in the 2016 Olympics and won gold at the 2015 European Championships. His professional record includes wins over Zhilei Zhang and Eric Molina.
“He’s had a very successful career, he’s achieved what he’s achieved,” says Itauma. “Of course he’s the toughest (opponent) to date. But I have confidence in my ability.”
In the build-up to the fight, Hrgovic has been aggrieved at the suggestion he is simply there to facilitate the continued ascent of British boxing’s latest heavyweight hope.
“I feel like he is a bit of an excuse-maker,” retorts Itauma. “He’s not been brought in to lose. He’s been brought in to fight me. I’ll do my job and knock him out. I just hope when I do beat him, I get some props.”
Itauma might not be moved by history, but he does seem to want wider recognition for his abilities. Warren believes Saturday can provide it.
“My job is about timing,” Warren says. “The best punches are the best-timed punches and the best matchmaker is the best-timed matchmaker. We hope we’ve got it right, but Moses wanted this fight and his team wanted this fight. This wasn’t a hard sell from us. He said: ‘That’s what I want.’”
Moses Itauma lands a punch on Jermaine Franklin Jr in March (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
If Itauma can get beyond Hrgovic, the possibilities multiply. Warren points to the depth of British heavyweight boxing and potential future fights pitting Itauma against fellow Queensbury fighters Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley.
“Who’s going to come out at the end of it carrying the banner?” Warren asks. “Who’s going to be the guy with the four belts? We’ll see in time.
“But I believe this young man will stake his claim on Saturday night to be right up there. He’s a bloody good fighter, he’s a good person and boxing is a tough business. I really, really want this to work for him.”
Both Itauma and Warren are Arsenal supporters. Asked about the possibility of becoming heavyweight champion in the same year Arsenal have already won the Premier League, Itauma cracks a smile.
“Ah, man,” he grins. “Now that sounds like a dream.”
Then there is the Emirates Stadium. For Warren, staging a major fight at Arsenal’s home, where he has an executive box, is a lifelong ambition that remains unfulfilled.
“For me, it is a dream,” he says. “I’m an old geezer. I’ve done all the important stadiums. I was at Highbury (Arsenal’s former stadium) as a kid when Muhammad Ali fought Henry Cooper. I’ve never put a fight on there and that’s a dream for me. Moses can make my dream come true.”
Itauma laughs.
“Frank Warren’s making me sound like I’m a genie. I’m going to grant his wishes.”
On Saturday, Warren hopes Itauma will become world champion. Beyond that lies the possibility of becoming the defining heavyweight of his generation — and, perhaps one day, walking out in front of tens of thousands at the home of the football club they both adore.
“I am determined it’s going to happen,” insists Warren. “I want Moses to follow in Ali’s footsteps and fight at The Arsenal.”
The promoter can’t help but dream of the future. Itauma, for now, seems content simply being a boxer.
Win on Saturday night, and it may become considerably harder to remain just that.
