David Haye believes Moses Itauma will go on to become the heavyweight champion of the world if he can knock out Dillian Whyte tonight.
Itauma will put his international and intercontinental heavyweight titles on the line in Riyadh tonight, and could fire his career to new heights with a win.
Still just 20 years old, the undefeated Briton has been tipped by many as a star of the future, but will face comfortably the toughest test of his career so far as he steps between the ropes with the veteran Whyte, 37.
For Haye, a former unified world cruiserweight champion, it is time for Itauma to make good of the hype, and only one outcome will do.
“Moses, if he is the truth, if he is the guy everyone says he’s going to be, he should win this fight by knockout,” Haye told Standard Sport.
“I think Itauma is a future heavyweight champion of the world, and he has put himself in the firing line against a legitimate world-class fighter with bags of experience. Whyte has been boxing longer than Moses has been alive.
“I think this fight will let us know if one of the most highly touted heavyweight prospects is going to be what everyone hopes he is going to be.”
Haye went on to say that Whyte’s considerable experience - tonight’s fight will be the 35th of his 14-year career - should be cause for concern for Itauma’s camp.
“Whyte is the kind of guy who can cause someone problems, particularly someone who has only had 12 professional fights at a lot lower level than what Whyte fights at.
“Itauma hasn’t fought anybody remotely close to Whyte’s level. He has fought respected guys on the scene, but Dillian isn’t that type of guy. He is significantly better than anyone Moses has fought.”
Itauma’s youth could still prove an advantage. Haye worries Whyte may not be able to last the full distance.
“He’s 38 years old, fighting someone who’s 20,” he said.
“How much more does Dillian have left in the tank? Does he have another 12 rounds of world-class action in him? If he does, it's unknown whether Moses can handle it.”
He may not get the chance to test his endurance, though. Haye expects Itauma to end proceedings early: “Itauma will win in four rounds, and if he isn’t able to win in four rounds, Dillian can get some momentum and grind down the young guy, maybe to win on points.
“Moses is a big guy, he’s strong, got a good chin, he’s resilient, so I’d be surprised if Dillian was able to stop him, but he doesn’t have to stop him to win, he just has to win seven of the 12 rounds.”
David Haye was speaking as a brand ambassador for Highbet.
