A significant British heavyweight boxing match has been confirmed for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on August 16, featuring Dillian Whyte against rising star Moses Itauma.
The 37-year-old former WBC Interim champion, Whyte, will step into the ring with the undefeated Itauma, who has secured 10 knockout victories in his 12 professional fights.
The event card will also include Nick Ball defending his WBA featherweight title against Sam Goodman as the co-main event, and a junior lightweight bout between former champions Anthony Cacace and Raymond Ford. Other fights scheduled for the August 16 show in the Saudi Arabian city, which is linked to the Esports World Cup, are Filip Hrgovic vs David Adeleye and Hayato Tsutaumi vs Quais Ashfaq.
For the 20-year-old unbeaten Itauma, facing Whyte, who holds notable wins over Joseph Parker, Derek Chisora, and Oscar Rivas, represents a considerable step up in competition.
Itauma is viewed as an exciting and phenomenal prospect who has navigated his early professional career with few setbacks, particularly impressive given his youth for the heavyweight division. In May, he quickly defeated Mike Balogun (21-1). On the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk rematch, Itauma impressed by needing only one round to stop Demsey McKean, regarded as a fringe world-level operator. Last year, he also stopped the usually durable heavyweight gatekeeper Mariusz Wach.
Whyte provides another important test for the young talent. The London fighter is a former world title challenger with experience against some of the top names in the division.
His career highlights include a WBC world title challenge against Tyson Fury at Wembley Stadium, a thrilling rivalry fight for the British title against Anthony Joshua several years ago, and exciting clashes with Joseph Parker (now WBO Interim champion) and Derek Chisora.
Whyte previously encountered a drug test issue before a scheduled rematch with Joshua but was subsequently cleared. He made his return to action in Gibraltar last December, securing a win against Ebenezer Tetteh.Prior to the fight`s official confirmation, promoter Frank Warren addressed speculation about elite heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma`s potential next opponent being Dillian Whyte during an appearance on the Toe2Toe podcast.
Murray Blackwood