Given what Oleksandr Usyk stated – presumably an indirect dig – Moses Itauma could have fired back with a cheesy response. But he chose not to. Instead, the 20-year-old rising star handled it with composure beyond his years. Itauma faces heavyweight contender Jermaine Franklin on March 28. Meanwhile, two months later, Usyk will step into the ring at the Pyramid of Giza to defend his WBC title against kickboxer Rico Verhoeven.

During a recent interview on “Inside the Ring,” Oleksandr Usyk said he has three more fights left as his career enters its final stretch. After Verhoeven, he appears willing to consider the winner of the upcoming bout between Fabio Wardley, who holds the WBO belt, and former opponent Daniel Dubois, followed by a trilogy with “greedy belly” Tyson Fury. When Itauma’s name was mentioned,  Usyk said he didn’t want to derail the young heavyweight’s career. To a casual follower, those remarks may come off as condescending, but when iFL TV’s Kugan Cassius raised those comments, Itauma responded calmly.

“Listen, everybody’s got to say something to the media, and he ain’t going to come on the media and say nah,” he told Cassius. “I mean, um, let me ask you a question. Do you think Usyk would be able to knock Dillian Whyte out in a minute?

Or do you think if the fight was, let’s say, before I boxed Dillian Whyte, when the fight got announced, you would have thought that Usyk would have knocked Dillian Whyte out in a minute? So you can’t say that because he’s saying I’m a young guy who will break me. Listen, I have the utmost respect for Usyk.”

When Cassius asked whether Usyk’s comments offended him, Itauma responded that they didn’t. He explained that fighters often say things on camera because they don’t want to present themselves in a negative light. They have to speak about themselves in a way that presents the strongest version of who they are. For his part, he doesn’t mind what Usyk said or meant. If he gets the opportunity to fight Usyk, he will gladly take it. If not, then he will move forward.

Itauma’s reaction comes at a time when questions continue to surround Usyk’s future.

Oleksandr Usyk’s roadmap and the heavyweight dilemma

The Verhoeven matchup has generated considerable buzz. But beyond Wardley, the heavyweight division also features Agit Kabayel, the WBC title holder, and Itauma, who is coming off a stunning knockout victory over Dillian Whyte last summer.

Given the depth of the field, why is Usyk opting to face a former kickboxing champion instead of a more compelling in-division matchup?

On “Inside the Ring,” which featured welterweight champion Devin Haney as a guest panelist, Usyk, who turned 39 in January, reiterated his three-fight roadmap: Verhoeven first, followed by the Wardley-Dubois winner and then Fury, leaving little room for Itauma.

“I don’t want to fight Itauma, because he’s a young guy,” he said. “I don’t want to break this guy. He’s a guy like me.”

That stance prompted a pushback. Kellerman argued that most fans would rather see him face off contenders like Kabayel, Wardley, and Itauma. These are the fights that would truly cement his legacy, which otherwise appears thin when compared with Muhammad Ali’s or Lennox Lewis’ resumes.

In response, Usyk said he would consult his team before taking a final decision.

Even so, external pressure may soon force reality. Queensberry’s Frank Warren, who represents both Wardley and Dubois, has already made his position clear – Usyk will have to fight the winner of the headliner on May 9.

If Usyk proceeds with the Fury trilogy, it would complicate matters for Kabayel, who won a title eliminator in January, to secure his title shot, and for Itauma, who is still climbing the ranks, to firmly establish himself in the picture.