Moses Itauma: I won't try to be someone I'm not

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Moses Itauma can’t quite put his finger on why or how he has captured the imagination of the boxing public.

Itauma’s social following is into the hundreds of thousands, and yesterday his Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren contended that the 21-year-old Itauma, who fights Filip Hrgovic on August 29 at London’s O2 Arena, is the brightest young star in boxing today.

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“I don’t know,” Itauma said when asked today why people are starting to talk about him. “I don’t know because, like, I just, I try to be authentic when I'm on camera. And then obviously in my boxing, I guess it seems like I’m putting on entertaining fights. So I feel like that’s got a part to play in it. I wouldn’t really know. I guess I’m not braggadocious. I’m not swaggerdocious. I don’t do anything extraordinary outside the ring. I don’t know. In my mind, I feel like it might be just because I come across as myself. I don’t try to be anyone else.”

And while Itauma has made it no secret that the life of fame and celebrity is less than appealing, he admits that there are times when, as a 14-0 (12 KOs) contender who has travelled from Slovakia to live in the UK, everything does seem somewhat surreal.

“I remember the Jermaine Franklin fight [in Manchester earlier this year],” he said.

“Yeah, I remember when everybody was going, ‘Ohhhh, Mo-ses It-auma…’ I just wanted to sit there and just listen to it and just appreciate it. But it’s hard because I’m in the ring fighting. So it’s like, you try to appreciate, you try to take it in, but at the same time, you don’t wanna be starstruck so that obviously you get caught out.”

No one has been able to catch out Itauma yet. Hrgovic has been stubborn and resolute in his belief that his experience will carry him to victory in London.

The fight was initially made without a belt on the line, but a deal has been struck with Frank Sanchez, so he lies in wait for the winner.

“To be honest, for me, like, I didn’t really have no reaction,” Itauma said when told that the title would now be on the line. “I was like, if I’m fighting Hrgovic and I’ve got the opportunity for it to be a world title, I said, ‘Yeah, chuck the world title on the line.’ I didn't really have no feeling. I was taking Hrgovic seriously, and now that the fight’s for a world title, I’m still taking him seriously.”

Itauma was also asked whether he agreed with Warren’s assessment of him being boxing’s brightest upcoming talent.

“You know what it is? I just think I’ve developed into the person, the character and the fighter I want to be, as I feel like a lot of people that are up there have,” he explained. “And I feel like it’s hard to ignore Jaron Ennis, Shakur Stevenson. Like, they’re all still kind of young.

Itauma said he felt that Agit Kabayel posed one of the biggest threats in the heavyweight division and was arguably his biggest rival in the future, though a fight of that magnitude – against Kabayel, who holds the WBC belt – would be a stadium-filler.

While Itauma is not likely to shrink under the occasion, he is not embracing some aspects of what comes with it.

“To be honest, I just had an interview with BBC and they said, they asked me, what’s the one thing that people don’t know about Moses Itauma? And I said, ‘I don’t actually want to be under the bright lights, but with the way I’m going, it looks like I ain’t got no choice.’ So, I don’t know.”

Regardless, Itauma’s future is bright. And he’s acknowledged that there are other young heavyweights starting to make a charge as they begin their heavyweight journeys.

“I like Leo Atang. He’s very, very decent. Nice kid as well. I like Adam Olaniyan, the guy who’s just signed with Queensberry. I watched his fight the other day. Very good as well. Obviously, that Teremoana, he looks decent. Yeah, that's probably it. That’s probably the ones that I’m looking at for the young guns coming up. They all look decent…

“There’s one kid, though, from Germany. His name is Nikita Putilov. He’s still an amateur, but when he turns pro, he’ll be good. I’ve spotted him a few times and every time I’ve spotted him, he’s doing very good work

BoxingScene's Lance Pugmire explains the ongoing situation with Noel Mikaelian accepting an offer to fight Jai Opetaia when his promoter Don King had arranged for him to face David Benavidez. Lance also shares his thoughts on William Zepeda's win over Lamont Roach Jr. and Raymond Muratalla's next move.

Callum Simpson speaks ahead of his rematch with Troy Williamson this Saturday, reflecting on his first professional defeat, his decision to team up with Rob McCracken and his preparations for the rematch. Simpson also responds to Williamson's frustrations over the rematch clause and insists his rival should be grateful for the two biggest paydays of his career. He also discusses his mentality after losing for the first time, watching the stoppage back, moving forward with Rob McCracken and his ambitions of becoming a world champion.

Callum Walsh discusses his journey from Freddie Roach's Wild Card Gym to Manny Pacquiao's new gym in Hollywood, his relationship with Dana White and his role in the rise of Zuffa Boxing.

Aaron McKenna looks back on his first trip to America, where he faced future world champion Devin Haney in the semi-finals of the Ringside World Championships in 2011.