Is Moses Itauma really the next Mike Tyson? Why everyone's talking (or not talking) about boxing's Next Big Thing

Call him Moses. It's easier that way. Easier to say, easier to remember, easier to promote. Call him Moses on the fight poster, the billboard and the on-screen graphics and call him Moses when trying to attract either sponsors or the eyes of the public. Simplify him, in other words. Make him a brand, a product. Think of him as one of those superstars whose power is so great they need only their first name. Think Beyoncé. Think Prince. Think Shaq. Think of all the Brazilian soccer players who achieved international fame with just their first name on the back of their shirt, like Romário, Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Neymar. If it can work for them, it can work for you too, Enriko Moses Itauma.

That is the view of Itauma’s team at least. They, with good reason, sensed they had a superstar on their hands the day Itauma hatched and have started to now nudge him toward the light ahead of his IBF heavyweight title fight against Filip Hrgovic on Saturday . To get him the attention his talent deserves, they have made a conscious effort to simplify Itauma for a mainstream audience. That’s why his next fight was billed as “Moses X Hrgovic” on the DAZN ad I saw on the big red bus that passed while I began to write this piece. It’s also why, on that same bus, we were greeted with the tagline “Britain’s youngest ever world heavyweight champion awaits,” and why Mike Tyson, the world’s youngest, is someone to whom Itauma, just 21 years of age, is often compared.

In fact, ever since he turned professional at 18, Itauma has been compared to Tyson. At first, it was purely an age thing — Itauma, they said, wanted to win a world heavyweight title quicker than Tyson did when bouncing Trevor Berbick, the WBC champion, up and down in 1986 (at the age of 20). Yet the more we got to know Itauma as a pro, the more we noticed other connective tissue as well. Beyond a fondness for the color black, he shared with Tyson an intensity and a ferociousness and a hunger to leave work early. They also both had trouble finding opponents capable of remaining upright in their presence.

Twelve months ago, I wrote something about Itauma's future ; specifically, his search for heavyweight names, led by a belief that he would struggle to find the right ones to aid his development. Since then, he has fought just twice — a first-round stoppage of Dillian Whyte last August, and a fifth-round stoppage of Jermaine Franklin in March — but was so impressive in those two fights that no longer are we seeking on his behalf the right opponents to help him both build and bide his time. Instead, owing to not only his talent but a changing of the guard at heavyweight, Itauma now finds himself already on the brink of becoming the second-youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history. Suddenly, because of the decision of Oleksandr Usyk to vacate his heavyweight titles , Itauma's route to the throne is clearer, his move expedited. Beat Hrgovic on Saturday in London and the IBF heavyweight belt, previously owned by Usyk, will then be Itauma's to take home. Then it's all about defending what he has and solidifying his status as one of the best heavyweights in the world. Then it becomes less about adding well-known names to his record and more about adding other heavyweight titles to his collection.

Itauma will become boxing's youngest heavyweight world champion since Tyson if he beats Hrgovic on Saturday. Richard Pelham via Getty Images

In light of this, the search now is not so much for opponents but rather attention, recognition, fans. It's all well and good saying that Itauma is the most talked-about young fighter in the world, yet to what extent is that lip service, or hyperbole, and to what extent is it actually true? Moreover, who exactly is talking about Moses Itauma, The Next Big Thing, in 2026? Is it the few people who already know of his immense talent and his rapid rise up the heavyweight division, or is it the many more who, when asked to name a boxer, would struggle to think beyond Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson?

Because it's something else now, popularity. It can be achieved quickly, yes, but it is also often experienced only in a vacuum, a bubble, an echo chamber. If one happens to frequent that echo chamber on a semi-regular basis, the idea of popularity can in time become distorted, giving a false impression of a person's value. In fact, it is only when one elects to step outside it — to touch grass, as the kids say — that one starts to realize that popularity in one realm does not always equate to popularity elsewhere.

For Itauma, this shift to mainstream prominence will be much harder to achieve than it was for his predecessors. Any comparison with Tyson, for example, seems unfair given the difference in eras. Whereas in the '80s and '90s a fighter like Tyson was everywhere, bigger than the sport and watched by everyone, Itauma, the Tyson of today, is at risk of falling victim to his sport's burning desire to make itself even more niche . Now, in the year of 2026, Itauma doesn't just have to break down opponents, he also has to overcome the existential threat of paywalls, attention spans, restless fingers, and all the alternative options available to the perennially indulged and indecisive. He is indeed a thoroughly modern fighter: one whose name is discussed more on social media than in real-life social situations where eye-contact still counts.

Last year, when asked about his fighter's commercial potential, Itauma's manager, Francis Warren, understandably saw no limit to it. "I know what he's capable of," Warren told me. "He is a [Lionel] Messi, he is a LeBron [James], he is a [Michael] Phelps, he is a Tiger Woods. He is a once-in-a-generation talent who will be a cultural sporting icon, worldwide. There's no doubt in my mind."

Itauma (L) and Filip Hrgovic (R) face off ahead of their IBF heavyweight titl...

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