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.”