Antonio Tarver says he wants to see Moses Itauma fight a “top 10 guy” that will “punch back” after him for his next fight to see what he’s made of. Like many fans, Tarver wasn’t impressed with the quality of Itauma’s opponent, Dillian Whyte, last Saturday night in Riyadh.
Tarver says he wants to see Itauma fight the unbeaten WBC interim heavyweight champion Agit Kabayel next. He believes that he would be a good test to see if Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs) has true talent.
“I liked what I saw from the young man. One thing I was impressed with was his poise. He didn’t go in there swinging wild, trying to get lucky. He set it up behind a controlled jab and power punching,” said Antonio Tarver to BoxNation, reacting to Moses Itauma’s win over Dillian Whyte last Saturday.
A ‘Shot Fighter’ Performance
We didn’t get the opportunity to see Itauma stressed out because Whyte wasn’t throwing any punches. From the opening bell, Dillian just looked like an old man, arthritic, frozen, slow, and unwilling to throw punches. He was the picture of a shot fighter. Itauma could afford to be relaxed with nothing coming back at him from Whyte.
‘The Body Snatcher’ was far worse than the other recent journeymen that Itauma had beaten to manufacture his 12-fight undefeated record to give the false appearance of 24k gold. All you could say is it was a great piece of matchmaking once again by Queensberry for picking out the fossil Dillian for Itauma to fight instead of a live body.
Itauma’s Mike Tyson Comparison
“I see why they say he’s Mike Tyson-like because every time he puts hands on somebody, it’s the same result,” said Tarver.
Itauma fights nothing like a young Mike Tyson. That comparison makes zero sense unless a person has never seen Tyson’s fighting style when he was in his early 20s. Moses uses the step back approach and retreats when attacked. He’s at his best when he’s the one going forward.
The Amateur Blueprint for Success
Stylianos Roulias showed how to give Itauma problems in the amateur ranks in 2022 when he pursued him relentlessly around the ring, hitting him whenever he got near enough. Moses got the win in that fight, but he looked human and vulnerable. The fight showed that Itauma loses power on his shots when he’s forced to move. He won’t stand still when attacked because he doesn’t enjoy getting hit.
“Now we want to see him step up. We know Dillian Whyte had experience. We know he had a future back then, but the Dillian Whyte that showed up tonight was only a shell of himself. We got to keep it real,” said Tarver about Itauma.
Turki Alalshikh should have spoken up when Queensberry chose to use Whyte as the opponent to headline against Itauma because this was no step up, and it never had a chance of being an entertaining, PPV-worthy fight. Dillian looked horrible in three out of his last four fights.
A Massacre, Not a Fight
One look at Whyte’s performance last December against journeyman Ebenezer Tetteh told you all you needed to know about his suitability as an opponent for Moses Itauma. This wasn’t a fight. It was a massacre.
“Until this guy [Itauma] beats somebody in the top 10 that can punch back, we ain’t going to know what this guy is made of. He’s too slow. He’s a plodder,” said Tarver when asked if Itauma should fight Filip Hrgovic next. “He’s too slow for what I saw tonight.”
None of the top heavyweights are fast. They’re big and powerful. What makes the 6’6″ Hrgovic a threat to Itauma is his skills, experience, power, and his toughness. He can take a punch. We saw that in his fight against David Adeleye last Saturday night. The shots that Hrgovic was hit with in the eighth round appeared harder than the ones that Itauma threw to knock out Whyte.
Why Agit Kabayel Is the Answer
“If you really want him tested [fight Agit Kabayel]. Everything today is watered down. Find out what the guy is made of before we put him in there with the champ,” said Tarver about Itauma.
Kabayel would be a good option to test what Itauma is made of, because he’s going to attack him, target his body. None of the 13 opponents Itauma has faced during his two-year professional career targeted his body.