Moses Itauma vs Mariusz Wach. (source: YT: The Boxing Archive)
While the world of combat sports eagerly awaits the rematch between boxers Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury on December 21 in Saudi Arabia, a 19-year-old boxer with Slovak roots, Moses Itauma, is among the contenders to become the future star of British heavyweight boxing, reports the Denník N daily.
In July, Itauma delivered a second-round knockout against veteran Polish fighter Mariusz Wach to retain his WBO Intercontinental heavyweight title. Wach previously fought (and lost to) Ukraine's Wladimir Klitschko for the unified world champion heavyweight title.
Slovakia's loss due to racism
When searching for more information about Moses Itauma online, you might come across a surprising fact: he was born in Kežmarok, in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia, and spent the early years of his life there. His father is Nigerian, and his mother is Slovak. Moses also has two brothers, Samuel and Karol.
In an interview with Boxing News Online last year, Itauma spoke about his family’s move from Slovakia to the UK. The primary reason was the racism they faced.
“My middle brother is much darker than Karol and me, and back then, it was quite a racist place. My mum didn’t see a reason for us to stay there, so we moved,” boxer explained.
“My brothers and I were racially abused, so we had to leave. It wasn’t a good place. My dad, being Nigerian, had lived in the UK before. I remember him telling me how people would stop and stare at him on the main street. He’d had enough, so he decided to return to England,” Itauma continued.
Eventually, the entire family relocated to Britain. “I stayed with my grandmother in Slovakia for a while, but in 2008 I was the last to leave,” Moses added.
He could have been Slovak, but is now a British rising star
The Itauma family settled in Kent, where Moses followed in the footsteps of his eldest brother, Karol, who first took up boxing. Moses initially started training at nine but quit after three months to play football with his middle brother, Samuel. However, football quickly lost its appeal, and Moses returned to boxing, joining St Mary’s ABC in Chatham, where he trained from age nine to 17 under the same coach he works with today.
As an amateur, Itauma won all 24 of his bouts and gained valuable experience sparring with top British fighters, including former world champion Lawrence Okolie at just 15. Since then, he’s trained with heavyweight stars like Anthony Joshua, Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce, and is currently part of Tyson Fury’s camp ahead of Fury’s upcoming rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
On the same card, Itauma will face Australia’s Demsey McKean, aiming to showcase his growing power and follow up on his win over Mariusz Wach. “I wouldn’t want to fight me either,” Itauma quipped about opponents who’ve backed out of matches.
Moses Itauma could have aimed for an Olympic medal with his amateur record, but he chose to turn professional at just 18, signing with top British promoter Frank Warren. Concerns over corruption and instability in amateur boxing, including the exclusion of the International Boxing Association (IBA) from the Olympic movement, influenced his decision. Itauma made an explosive pro debut in January 2023, knocking out Czech fighter Marcel Bode in just 23 seconds.
