Moses Itauma has been advised against taking a world title shot, or rather one that involves a formidable opponent.
The 21-year-old already has a fight lined up against Filip Hrgovic, but could soon become one of the youngest heavyweight champions in history.
This achievement would put him in the same breath as Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali and Floyd Patterson, but first Itauma must come through his assignment on August 29.
Taking on the most significant challenge of his career, the unbeaten prodigy will face Hrgovic at London’s O2 Arena in his third Queensberry main event.
With Oleksandr Usyk having vacated his three belts, though, Itauma could potentially secure a major title shot before even entering his next outing.
This is because the IBF have ordered a vacant title fight between Itauma and Frank Sanchez, who became the sanctioning body’s mandatory challenger in May.
‘The Cuban Flash’ earned his position with a stunning second-round finish over Richard Torrez Jr, while his only defeat came against WBC champion Agit Kabayel in 2024.
Itauma, meanwhile, has previously turned down an ordered fight with the 33-year-old, whose manager, Mike Borao, has told Sky Sports that his client’s next opponent is neither here nor there.
“I was surprised when Moses initially turned down the final eliminator against Frank recently.
“Moses is an incredible talent with massive upside. I myself am a fan of Moses, but a fight with Frank is probably a bit too soon, since he is young and there are other paths to a title for him.
“In the end, it doesn’t matter who Frank boxes because, as I have always said, a healthy Frank Sanchez with [trainer] Eddy Reynoso and Canelo [Alvarez] in his corner beats anyone.
“Boxing fans saw the devastation a healthy Frank Sanchez is capable of against Richard Torrez.”
Sanchez was hampered by a knee injury during the Kabayel fight, which resulted in an eighth-round stoppage defeat, but the Cuban has since undergone surgery and seems in a much stronger position.
As for his potential clash with Itauma, both sides have until July 29 to reach an agreement, otherwise their ordered showdown will go to a purse bid hearing.
In the event that Itauma withdraws his interest, Sanchez will be ordered to face the next available contender in the IBF rankings.
