Following another viral knockout, Moses Itauma is being touted for a dominant reign in the heavyweight division, but Dave Allen has declared that there are still two heavyweights that he fancies to beat the youngster, with neither of those being Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua.
Itauma extended his professional record to 14-0 (12 KOs) with a fifth-round triumph over Jermaine Franklin on Saturday night, dispatching of the durable American with a picture-perfect left uppercut followed by a right hand.
Now, the 21-year-old phenomenon could be set to challenge for the heavyweight crown before the end of the year, despite never fighting beyond six rounds, with a July date currently being planned as added preparation ahead of a potential title shot.
On his YouTube channel, fellow British heavyweight Allen recognised the quality of Itauma, but admitted that he would still make unified champion Oleksandr Usyk and undefeated German Agit Kabayel favourites in fights against the untested superstar.
“The only two men that I would confidently pick to beat him right now would be Usyk and Kabayel, they’re the only two in the entire world. I’m looking at BoxRec here, I’m looking at the top 20.
“They are the only two that I would make a favourite to beat him really.
In terms of his fellow Britons, Allen favoured Itauma against both Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley, who collide in a WBO heavyweight title affair in five weeks’ time, and favoured the current face of the next generation over former divisional poster boys, Fury and Joshua.
“I don’t think Dubois would stand up to what he [Itauma] gave him, I think that he would be too fast for him. I don’t think that Wardley, defensively, could deal with what Itauma threw, but he is a very hard man and he can punch himself.
“You couldn’t rule them [Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua] out but I think that their best days have gone.”
Fury will seek to prove that he is still one of the best heavyweights in the world when he makes his comeback against Arslanbek Makhmudov next Saturday, whilst Joshua is due to return to action during the second half of the calendar.