Heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk has made his feelings clear regarding a potential clash with precocious talent Moses Itauma.
Many consider the 20-year-old to be the greatest threat to Usyk’s supremacy, his sheer speed, athleticism and devastating power establishing him as a consensus heir apparent to the Ukrainian’s throne.
It is, of course, still early days for Itauma, whose best win arguably came against a game but limited Demsey McKean, who he stopped in the first round, towards the end of last year.
More recently, the unbeaten knockout artist made light work of Dillian Whyte, a largely faded campaigner, who he halted with another one-round demolition job this past August.
In a more intriguing matchup, Itauma is now gearing up to face Jermaine Franklin Jr, a heavyweight known for his remarkable durability, on January 24.
At the same time, though, the dynamic southpaw, wishing to prove his world-class credentials, has expressed no small amount of interest in a possible showdown with Usyk.
More than anything, Itauma appears eager to cement himself as the best of his era and, right now, can only do so by toppling the two-division undisputed champion.
Usyk, meanwhile, has revealed very little regarding his next move, though a decision to vacate his WBO title would suggest that newly-crowned world champion Fabio Wardley is not exactly on his radar.
Neither, it seems, is Itauma, with the masterful technician having told Ready to Fight that he will not be exploring a matchup with the Brit.
“No, I won’t fight Itauma. He’s young – always teasing me. And he said himself he doesn’t hit grandpas.”
Usyk’s last performance saw him secure a fifth-round stoppage victory over Daniel Dubois and, in doing so, the 38-year-old became a three-time undisputed champion this past July.