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“What’s There to Eat?” “Nothing and No Money”: Hunger Drives Moses Itaum’s Growth

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When Moses Itauma comes to Paris to watch the Olympics, he will do so with the conviction that he made the right decision to turn professional at the age of 18.

Coming off a weekend in which Jared Anderson suffered a knockout loss to Martin Bakole that arguably cemented his place as the most promising youthful heavyweight in the world, and a week after Delicious Orie dropped out of the Games in a controversial loss, Itauma will likely be more aware than ever of how brittle a fighter’s life is.

The fact that he trains with Anthony Joshua at Ben Davison’s gym in Essex may have made him reflect on the glory and rewards of becoming an Olympic champion. Winning gold in London 2012 meant the endlessly attractive Joshua was given the most privileged platform on which to build a lucrative and successful career, and his transformation from troubled teenager arrested for possession of marijuana and intent to supply to world heavyweight champion remains one of the most celebrated.

Itauma – perhaps ironically, given he is 19 and Joshua entered the London Games aged 22 – nevertheless did not believe time was a luxury for him. He revealed for the first time that suggestions that he had been told he would not be selected to compete in Paris were wrong. Instead, it was the need to support his poor family – literally, to lend a hand put food on the table – that meant he felt he had no choice but to turn professional.

His recent and impressive stoppage of the strong Mariusz Wach has bolstered his reputation with the wider public and proved to be the biggest statement of his 10-fight professional career, but it was something the relaxed, maturing heavyweight took in stride. Providing comfort to his family and having the freedom to travel independently to the Games ultimately means much more.

“There were times when my brother and I would ask each other, ‘What are we having for dinner tonight?’” Itauma explains. “‘Oh, I think we’ll just go to bed.’ That’s what we had for dinner—we had a dream for dinner.

“It was when I was about 16 or 17 – just two or three years ago. I swear. We laughed about it at the time, but it’s only now that I realize we didn’t really have anything. Everything was going so well. My mom and dad were together; [brother and professional light heavyweight] Karol worked, everything went according to plan. But then my father died and my mother couldn’t afford three large kids.

“Me and Samuel, my middle brother, we would laugh about it. I’d say, ‘Samuel, what’s there to eat?’ And he’d say, ‘Nothing and we’ve got no money,’ so I’d say, ‘OK, what are we going to do?’ And he’d say, ‘Well, I guess we’ll go to bed.’ Sometimes we’d go to a friend’s house and hope they’d cook something for us. That gave me extra motivation to work harder.

“Those were crazy times. I weighed about 250 pounds when I was 15 or 16, and then when Samuel and I had to move out, I would lose a pound or two every time I went to training. My coach would ask, ‘Why are you losing so much weight?’ And I would just tell him I didn’t have money for food. That’s just how it was. it wasn’t intentional.

“I just lost weight. I lost about 25 kg and then my trainer Dan Woledge became my sponsor and then [my promoter] Frank Warren also stepped in to sponsor me.

Itauma turned pro under Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, and in January 2023, in the pre-fight fight following Artur Beterbiev’s knockout of Anthony Yarde, he needed just 23 seconds to stop Marcel Bode – despite the fact that his brother Karol had just lost for the first time.

Although Warren’s son Francis is Itaum’s manager, the pattern of Itaum’s career so far is the same as that of many others under the promoter’s guidance. Yarde, Daniel Dubois and Hamzah Sheeraz have all made admirable strides as professionals, thanks largely to their natural talent, but Warren insists that proper professional experience is a better path than that offered by the Olympics – the pinnacle of some of the world’s most iconic competitors – contributing to Itaum’s claim that he watched what unfolded in Paris without a single sense of regret.

“Rob McCracken himself told me that if I had stayed an amateur, I would have gone to the Games,” he says. “I paired up with Delicious and did what I wanted to do. I could have gone.

“I was very tempted, but external factors – my family kind of needed me to become a professional. I didn’t come from a privileged background, you know what I mean? I became a professional – I’m not saying I did it because of that – but I just didn’t have a choice.

“I would never regret it. Never. I boxed in Saudi Arabia; I was at dinner with all the greatest heavyweights; lightweights. I was in the same room as Mike Tyson; Manny Pacquiao; Shannon Briggs. I was there with all the greats and I was like, ‘My life is so blessed.’ In my mind I was like, ‘I could go to the Olympics and this would always be there,’ but no, it all came at the perfect time. I definitely don’t regret it. No way.

“It’s a step closer to being at the top. Why would I wait four or five years when I can have it next year? I don’t regret it. I feel like I’m in the best game in the world. At first I felt like I had to do it; [since] He said it many times, “I can do it; I have the opportunity to do it.”

“There are so many fighters in the world who want to do this as a job but can’t. Or fighters who like boxing and have to build bricks after hours or something like that. I’m in a privileged position where I don’t have to do that. I have nothing to complain about. I feel like I’m living the dream. Sometimes I look at myself, and when I’m in Saudi Arabia and I look at the room they’ve prepared for me, I think… the food I’m eating.

“When I was training in Saudi Arabia, I looked at Fury; I looked at Kevin Lerena; all of those. I looked at the villa we were in and I thought, ‘No, this is bogus.’ Two years ago I was struggling. Me and my brother were having mayonnaise and rice for dinner – you know what I mean? Now I was in Saudi Arabia with the biggest weightlifters, eating large steaks; living in a nice house; a nice apartment. It seemed unreal.

“[The sense of pressure to provide for my family is] why I didn’t enjoy it at first. And then, when all the pieces started coming together – that’s when I realized what sport I was doing. Now I love it.

“Just being comfortable and not worrying about money. That’s it. I don’t need 50 cars or private jets; I just want to be comfortable. I don’t want anyone around me to be stressed out.

“I thought Delicious would go further. He’s the European champion, so I thought he would go further. But maybe winning is not a good thing, because if you wake up thinking you’re a winner, you go to bed a loser. You have to have the mentality of a loser every morning.

“Maybe him winning the European gold meant he thought he was a winner, so he could take his foot off the gas. Maybe that cost him the Olympic medal. Maybe that – I don’t know his mentality.

“I’m there to watch the athletes. The runners and boxers have trained their whole lives, so I want to go there and support them. Athletics; men’s and women’s 52 and 92 finals [in boxing].”

Itauma – originally from Chatham, Kent – ​​has already bought two homes in just over 18 months since he was first paid for the fight.

The potential loss of Anderson as a future opponent – ​​for all his skill, Anderson, more than anything let down by naive matchmaking when he was stopped by Bakole on Saturday, lacks Itauma’s conviction – makes the continued presence of Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov in Paris a subject of growing interest, regardless of Itauma’s desire to fight for a title after a compact layoff.

“I think Jalolov [will win gold] but it’s not fair – Itauma says. – He has 12-0 [he’s actually 14-0] as a professional; he’s 30 years aged; he’s already had two Olympic cycles; it’s a bit unfair, isn’t it?

“But I know that in Uzbekistan, winning Olympic gold is better than winning the world title, so if you can, you can do it. Australian heavyweight [Teremoana Junior, who lost to Jalolov] looks good too.

“In two [professional] fights I went the whole distance I was disappointed with myself because I could have done more. Even though I say I’m disappointed with these fights, I’m actually elated with my career. I’ve been in it for a year and a half; I’ve had 10 fights. I’m eighth in the WBO rankings; I’m in a good position now. I really can’t ask for more.

“I want this to be my next fight or the fight after this” [when I compete for a title]When I became a professional, I said I wanted to break Mike Tyson’s record [of being the youngest world heavyweight champion at the age of 20] -it’s only because I shared the ring with all the guys in the world [in sparring]. I’m doing fine.

“Sometimes I’d go into that fight and do better. In my mind I’d think, ‘Why are you holding me back? I’m as good as they come.'”

“Of course I’m in the ring, the atmosphere; the miniature gloves; even the referee. In amateur boxing they’re very strict, in every way; in professional boxing you can give them a little elbow; you can headbutt; you can get away with it. You can look at the referee and he’ll say, ‘Don’t look at me.’ There are a lot of differences, but I feel like skill-wise I’m ready.

“My time will come.”

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Boxing

Tyson’s conqueror, Danny Williams, was “never considered” for Morrison

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Kenzie Morrison Danny Williams

World Boxing News has learned that Danny Williams was never considered for a fight against Tommy Morrison’s son Kenzie on November 9.

WBN has learned from a source that Williams was scheduled to face Morrison next month when he returns to action at Firelake Arena in Shawnee. However, promoter Tony Holden confirmed what WBN initially reported, namely that Williams had been offered for the fight.

BoxRec also briefly placed Williams within Morrison’s record on November 9, before removing the former British champion. Williams famously knocked out Mike Tyson in 2004, but has since lived off his victory despite losing his British license more than a decade ago.

Holden, who represents Morrison and is looking for an opponent for the competition in three weeks, explained the situation exclusively to WBN.

“I never confirmed William’s story and I never considered him,” Holden said. “I said no when a local promoter suggested it.”

Williams, 51, last fought in August 202, losing for the 33rd time in his career. With 88 professional fights under his belt, Williams seems unable to turn down a payday despite his advanced age.

Morrison, a power puncher who has stopped 19 of his 21 wins, will look for his next conquest elsewhere. The fight with Mike Balogun remains on the table for 2025 after it was postponed from its original October date.

Balogun, who knocked out Kenzi’s brother Trey in the first round, claimed Morrison was pulled from the fight to spare him the loss.

Holden denies this view.

“Even though this post isn’t up to my standards, I’m going to write it anyway. Mike Balogun falsely claimed that I pulled Kenzie Morrison out of the fight because I was afraid he would lose. Please allow me to correct you, Mr. Balogun,” he stated.

“The decision was not made by Kenzie. Let’s raise the stakes and make it fascinating. If you emerge victorious this month, Kenzie will fight in November.

“We may decide this early next year. If your confidence remains unshaken, we can place a significant bet. Watch Kenzie take revenge on her brother and end your career.

Balogun, a former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, responded to Holden by increasing his salary for a potential collision next year.

“No matter how fair and honorable your decision was, just remember that ‘yesterday’s price is not today’s price,’” said the 2010 undrafted pick.

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Andrew Moloney is confident that if given the chance, he would have beaten Phumelele Cafu and Kosei Tanaka

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Andrew Moloney (left) attacks Pedro Guevara – photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Few people were more disappointed than Andrew Moloney when Kosei Tanaka lost his WBO super flyweight belt to Phumelele Cafu at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Australian veteran was hoping to get a shot at beating Tanaka in the lucrative Japanese market.

Those dreams were dashed when South Africa’s Cafu delivered the performance of his life, knocking out Tanaka in the fifth round and finishing the fight strongly, beating the four-weight world champion by split decision.

“The plan was to target the WBO and really chase the Tanaka fight, but it all fell apart on Monday night,” Moloney (26-4-1NC, 16 KO) told The Ring. “I think the WBO is probably still the direction we go, but I’m not sure if they have a rematch clause or if Tanaka will take it. But after watching the fight yesterday, I would be really confident that I could fight one of these guys and win. We would like to follow this path.

“I would love to fight Tanaka in Japan as a four-division world champion. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to and wanted to fight for a long time.

“Last night was a little hard to watch. The way he performed, I’m more confident than ever that I have what it takes to beat Tanaka.

I assume there will be a rematch and I hope that Tanaka will regain the belt and I will be able to return to the ring and climb the rankings, and maybe this fight will still happen.

Tanaka entered Moloney’s orbit four years ago when he debuted at 115 pounds. Earlier this year, it looked like they were also on a collision course, with Moloney being number one in the WBO rankings. However, when an offer was made for the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. in May in Perth, Western Australia, Moloney felt he couldn’t turn her down.

This decision ended in disaster. Moloney faced Carlos Cuadras, who withdrew from the fight with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was replaced by Pedro Guevara. Moloney entered the fight with a torn bicep and was largely reduced to boxing with one hand, which circumscribed his punching power.

Still, Moloney felt he did more than enough to win, and was shocked when Guevara was declared the winner by split decision. He was so disappointed that he announced immediately after the fight that he was leaving the ring, but a few days later he withdrew these comments.

It was a breakthrough moment in his career.

“Looking back, it’s a wonderful thing, but watching the Tanaka-Cafu fight made me think that maybe I would do a lot of things if I could turn back time a little bit,” Moloney explained.

“Before my last fight, I was number one in the WBO rankings and I rejected the option of waiting to fight Tanaka. But the opportunity arose to fight Guevara in Australia for the interim WBC title on a major card, and to be candid, I kind of regretted that the Tanaka fight was hanging in the balance, but ultimately we decided to stay busy and take the opportunity to fight in Australia.

“Also, the injury before the fight was another thing I thought about: will I undergo surgery, keep the top spot and wait for Tanaka, but I made the decision to go ahead with the fight with Guevara. Looking back now, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And looking at the way Tanaka fought last night, I thought maybe I should have waited. I’m sure I could beat Tanaka and take the belt away from him.

“So I take some consolation, but unfortunately you can’t turn back time.”

It’s been a frustrating year for Moloney, but he’s still hitting the gym and his team is working to get him another fight. The window of opportunity to box again this year is closing quickly, but he still hopes to return to the ring in December, most likely in his native Australia.

“I really hope so,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I have been training strenuous at the gym for some time, quite a few months. I hope to return before the end of the year.

“At this stage it will probably be December. I’m trying to block something, but so far no luck. I’m still training away as if the fight was to take place in December, the team is currently working on it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to finish it.

“I just hope we can get out before the end of the year, get back into the winner’s circle and start climbing the rankings again.”

Moloney, who fought at bantamweight for the first three years of his professional career before dropping down to super flyweight, surprisingly, said he would even consider moving up to another weight class given the right opportunity.

“It’s a tough time in the super flyweight division,” said Moloney, the eighth challenger to The Ring’s 115-pound title. “There’s a lot going on and it’s always strenuous to plan which route to take because everything changes so quickly. I’d pick Bam Rodriguez to beat Guevara, then there’s talk of a rematch between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez on Up-to-date Year’s Eve. And then there’s talk of Bama, if they win, fighting the winner of that game in unification. The WBO seems to me the fastest way to win the title, so that’s the path we will follow.

“We have also rejected for some time the idea of ​​moving up to flyweight and getting crack there. There’s also some engaging scene going on there right now, but it’s still uncertain. I’d probably feel a little better at super flyweight, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Cafu and Tanaka, but like I said, I’d feel comfortable and confident against either of them, so hopefully he can make it it will happen sooner rather than later.”

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Doubts that fuel 19-year-old Benjamin Johnson

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Despite an impressive amateur resume, welterweight Benjamin Johnson of Springdale, Maryland, enters the professional ring with a shoulder injury.

Johnson will face Kevin Pantoja in a four-round fight at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland, promoted by his trainer Lamont Roach Snr’s NoXcuses Promotions. The fight will be broadcast on Saturday on ProBox TV.

Johnson, 1-0 (1 KO), spent just 2:23 in the ring in his professional debut, displaying the quick, aggressive hands that won him multiple national titles. However, 19-year-old Johnson feels an advantage, believing he is being overlooked by his NoXcuses Boxing Gym teammates.

Pantoja, 1-1, 27, has never stopped being a professional – Johnson aims to change that.

“People underestimate me,” Johnson said. “It’s been like that since I was an amateur.”

He added that this underestimation increases his motivation in the gym. Johnson is determined to prove his worth not only to himself, but also to those who doubt him or, worse, don’t recognize him. “I never felt like I was recognized as that guy, so I feel like I’m underappreciated,” Johnson said of his amateur and now professional career.

Johnson sees the fight as a key step in his career, compared to feared forward David Benavidez by some teammates and touted by others as one of the most ready-to-fight prospects in the country.

“I train as much as I can,” Johnson said. “It’s about making a statement. The way you win shows people what you’re capable of, and I’m ready to show my best.

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