
Moses Itauma to fight Dillian Whyte on August 16 in Saudi Arabia as Brit sensation take huge step towards title shot
THE Moses Itauma steam train is on course to collide with Dillian Whyte on August 16.
The 20-year-old heavyweight sensation has been struggling to find incremental step-up opponents, after demolishing his last two victims inside three combined rounds.
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But the 37-year-old Brixton Body Snatcher has leapt up to the challenge and will face the hottest prospect in world boxing in the scorching Saudi desert on August 16.
The clash would come just three months after the Slovakia-born Kent wonderkid battered poor Mike Balogun inside two rounds on May 24 and barked: "I don't have to worry about doing rounds, but my team wants to see me in a 10-rounder.
'And then I want in with the big dogs."
Whyte was scheduled to have a tune-up fight last night (SAT) in Ipswich but withdrew as soon as the big-money fight was placed on his table.
Itauma was also slated to have another litmus test on the July 19 Wembley showdown between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois.
But Saudi boxing kingpin Turki Al Sheikh is a man on a mission to make the biggest and best bouts that he fancies.
And all the best-laid plans and blueprints go up in smoke when he dreams up a fantasy fight and stumps up the Riyals to stage it.
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The Independent
35 minutes ago
- The Independent
Katie Taylor delivers hard truth to Amanda Serrano to end unforgettable boxing chapter
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The Independent
40 minutes ago
- The Independent
Usyk vs Dubois 2: Start time, undercard and how to watch fight
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The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Britain's Hamzah Sheeraz crushes Edgar Berlanga to announce 168lb arrival
Rising British star Hamzah Sheeraz made an explosive arrival to boxing's super middleweight division on Saturday night, stopping Edgar Berlanga in the fifth round of their bout at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens. The destructive performance marked a resounding debut at 168lb for the 26-year-old from Ilford and dramatically altered the landscape of a weight class ruled by Saul 'Canelo' Álvarez. Fighting in the main event of a Ring Magazine card staged on the No 2 show court of the US Open tennis tournament, Sheeraz dropped Berlanga twice in the fourth round before closing the show 17 seconds into the fifth. It was the kind of showcase that not only silences critics but instantly propels a fighter from prospect to contender – and in this case, into potential lucrative matchups with the likes of Álvarez or David Benavidez. The setting for Sheeraz's career-best win was just as striking as the action. 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Both decisions looked inspired on Saturday. After a slow first three rounds, Sheeraz took control in the fourth. He slipped under a Berlanga uppercut and countered with a left hook that sent the Brooklyn native crashing flat onto his back and half under the ropes. Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) beat the count but never recovered. Seconds later, Sheeraz dropped him again with a crisp left-right combination that sent him clattering to the canvas, seemingly more dazed than defiant. The bell temporarily spared Berlanga, but Sheeraz needed just one more salvo in the fifth – a right-left that left Berlanga sagging – to prompt referee David Fields' rightful intervention. 'I promise you, I swear to you, whoever was in the ring with me today, there was no stopping me,' Sheeraz said afterward. 'The amount of abuse I got after the last fight made me a hungrier fighter.' The difference in class and composure was evident. Berlanga's only claim to fame was going the distance with Álvarez in 2023. 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In the co-feature bout, Shakur Stevenson turned in one of the more entertaining performances of his career, defeating Mexico's William Zepeda by unanimous decision to retain his WBC lightweight title. The ringside judges handed down scores of 119–109 and 118–110 (twice), but the fight was more spirited than the cards suggest. Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) came into the ring under intense pressure to deliver a more fan-friendly performance after a widely panned win over Artem Harutyunyan last July. On Saturday, he answered that criticism by standing his ground, exchanging with one of the division's more aggressive fighters and showcasing both his technical mastery and his tenacity. 'I came in here to prove a point,' Stevenson said in the ring. 'It wasn't the performance I was looking for because I came in here to try and fight, so I took more punishment than usual. But I proved that I'm a dog.' Zepeda (33-1, 27 KOs) landed more power punches on Stevenson than any previous opponent, including a hard straight right in the third round that appeared to stun the 2016 Olympic silver medallist. Yet Stevenson responded with poise and precision, unloading crisp counters and blinding combinations that repeatedly turned Zepeda's head and backed him up. As early as the second round, Stevenson was standing in the pocket, trading head shots while slipping and rolling Zepeda's best body work in his signature Philly shell defense. In the middle rounds, he took over completely, doubling and tripling up on the jab, then following with sharp lefts and uppercuts. Zepeda remained game, pressing forward and refusing to wilt, but Stevenson's craft gradually dismantled the Mexican's offense. By the 10th, the challenger's output had slowed and Stevenson began using his legs more sparingly, clinching only when absolutely necessary. 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