Moses Itauma blew away Dillian Whyte with a devastating first-round knockout in their all-British heavyweight clash in Riyadh. The 20-year-old extended his perfect record through 13 professional fights as he sent veteran Whyte sprawling to the canvas inside two minutes.
The 37-year-old Whyte, a former WBC interim heavyweight champion, was not given any time to settle as Itauma – who had been made to wait in the ring by a delayed walk-in from his British rival – immediately went on the front foot.
The Chatham southpaw tested Whyte with a flurry of early jabs before more precision shot combinations sent him back on to the ropes. Another powerful right hook sent Whyte crashing to the floor and, although he stumbled back on to his feet, the referee stepped in to wave off the contest with just over a minute left of the first round.
On the back of another hugely impressive display, the calls will continue to grow for Itauma, born in Slovakia, to be handed a world title shot in 2026, though he played down the chances of facing Oleksandr Usyk, the undisputed heavyweight champion.
“That’s what I’ve been drilling for 12, 13 weeks,” Itauma said on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. “I have trained hard for this, I didn’t want it to be over in the first round.
“I put on a performance for you guys, so it’s now who’s next? I don’t want to call out Usyk because I don’t believe I deserve the opportunity – but guys that do deserve the opportunity, I want to fight those lot. So maybe Agit Kabayel, maybe Joseph Parker. Maybe them type of names.
“As of right now, I am going to rest and then maybe be back in the gym.”