Rising British heavyweight star Moses Itauma aimed to break a popular record held by legendary heavyweight Mike Tyson. The 20-year-old wanted to become the youngest heavyweight champion, something Tyson achieved at the age of 20 years, 4 months, and 21 days, defeating Trevor Berbick in 1986. Itauma, born 28th December 2004, turned professional in January 2023 at the age of 18, aiming to win a world title before May 19, 2025, to surpass Tyson’s record. 

Alas, it didn’t happen. Now 20 years and 7 months old, the Brit has passed the age at which Tyson set the record. He previously admitted his ambition was too naive due to the complexities of boxing politics, as he failed to secure bouts against title holders in the division. However, he now seems to have found a new idol to model his career after, Floyd Mayweather, who popularly made an eyewatering $1.2 billion throughout his boxing career. And according to a Yahoo Finance report from last year, Mayweather even has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion.

While discussing being motivated by the likes of Oleksandr Usyk and his success, Moses Itauma claimed a boxer can’t admit that another man is better than them. “I just don’t want to be like, ‘Yeah, that guy whooped my a—.’ Like, he handed it to me. I don’t want anyone to like kind of say that,” Itauma told Ring Magazine in a recent interview. However, what he wants is to become the most successful boxer in the world, much like Floyd Mayweather. 

“I want to be like Floyd Mayweather, for example,” Itauma added. “Where like, he made a lot of money in this sport, came out of his brain intact, no damage, or whatnot, and nobody can say that, ‘Yes, I f—ed him up.’ That’s the career that I want.” While Mayweather was never in danger of a loss outright throughout his career, there were close calls in some of his bouts. The 2002 bout against José Luis Castillo, the 2014 Marcos Maidana fight, or the 2010 Shane Mosley fight often gets mentioned, but Itauma had a retort for those as well.

“When people are insecure about themselves, they put a little doubt, a little bit of pressure on someone else, hoping that they’re going to break because it makes them feel better,” Itauma said during the interview. The 20-year-old is currently scheduled to face Dillian Whyte on August 16th in Riyadh for his first 12-round boxing match. Regardless, as Itauma plots his path to becoming the biggest star in boxing and maintain his undefeated record like Mayweather, a former world champion has claimed he can’t even surpass this heavyweight boxer.

Former world champion claims Moses Itauma won’t be bigger than Anthony Joshua

As Moses Itauma prepares for the toughest fight of his career, thus far, against former interim WBC heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte, former world champion Tony Bellew has poured cold water on suggestions the 20-year-old could one day surpass Anthony Joshua’s star power. Bellew shared his views while appearing in an interview with First Round TV.

“You won’t see a boxer who’s the face of Lynx, who’s the face of Under Armour, who’s the face of Lucozade, who’s the face of Hugo Boss,” Bellew said. Fellow panelist Dave Allen added, “Joshua is bigger than boxing,” while Bellew highlighted AJ’s global influence. “This boy goes to Nigeria and shuts the country down… He’s the face of heavyweight boxing. He’s got the whole package around him.”

YouTuber Propa Boxing admitted Itauma could potentially “trump AJ’s boxing credentials,” but agreed that the “walking brand” appeal made Joshua unique. Bellew summed up, “Even if Daniel Dubois knocked out Usyk… he still wouldn’t be as big a star as AJ… because he doesn’t cross over as well to the public.”

Only time will tell whether Moses Itauma can surpass Anthony Joshua and become someone like Floyd Mayweather. Until then, Itauma has to be careful about who he chooses to fight because one loss will draw a line between who he wants to be and who he would become. Do you think Itauma can be like Mayweather?