Itauma, Dubois, Fury: Who will take over Usyk's throne?
Moses Itauma (photo: Getty Images)
Oleksandr Usyk has left all the heavyweight belts behind, along with a huge question mark over who could take his place as the undisputed world champion.
RBC-Ukraine analyzes who could become the next undisputed heavyweight champion.
Moses Itauma – the favorite
At the moment, among all the boxers competing at the top or near-top level, the one who could realistically become a potential undisputed world champion is… Moses Itauma.
Why? Because he is 21 years old, has only 14 professional fights under his belt, and looks extremely powerful. I was at the Tyson Fury–Francis Ngannou fight in Saudi Arabia, and Itauma was still a very raw fighter at the time. It was his third or fourth professional bout. And even then, he already looked different from everyone else.
He was moved up very quickly, and just days ago it was announced that he would fight Filip Hrgović for the IBF title. The fight is scheduled for August 29.
If Itauma wins, he will become the second-youngest heavyweight world champion after Mike Tyson. He is already starting at a very young age for a heavyweight. This is an extremely young age for someone competing in this division. That is why, among all the current heavyweight boxers, I see only Moses Itauma as a potential undisputed champion.
Dubois – Itauma's main rival
Daniel Dubois also has a good chance of unifying the belts. I consider him an excellent boxer. He could benefit from adding a little more boxing IQ and psychological strength. But he has physical power, speed, and punching ability. He can combine all of these qualities. And in a matchup against, for example, Agit Kabayel, I would pick Dubois.
Kabayel, who currently holds the WBC belt vacated by Usyk, is a technical boxer. He is a smart fighter, but he does not have anything truly special. I wouldn't say Kabayel has exceptional punching power or incredible physical endurance.
Anthony Joshua, in my opinion, unfortunately, will no longer be able to win any belts. What we saw in the fight against Prenga was very poor. If he fights Tyson Fury, as has already been signed, Fury will beat him, and he will do it fairly easily.
Tyson Fury is still in the mix
Fury could win a belt because he is a decent boxer, despite his age. Plus, he is under contract with influential promoter Frank Warren, who also works with Dubois and Kabayel. But Fury, in my opinion, is a huge money-making machine. And the fight with Joshua may already be for a title.
Fury's manager has already spoken about this. There is such a title as the WBA Super. The belt previously held by Usyk is currently vacant. The organization has named Murat Gassiev its sole champion. However, in each weight division, the WBA has both the Regular and Super titles. And Fury's manager, Spencer Brown, has already stated that this belt is vacant and suggested putting it on the line.
So, if not against Joshua, then in his next fight, Fury will win some kind of belt. Will he be able to unify the titles? We'll see. We know his strengths, while his weaknesses include his age and the fact that he already seems somewhat worn down by boxing. That's why younger fighters could beat Tyson. And I no longer believe he can become undisputed.
In addition to all the fighters mentioned above, we also have Filip Hrgović, who will face Itauma on August 29. I’m picking Itauma in this fight because Hrgović is a decent boxer, but Itauma is stronger in both speed and power. Hrgović has a chance, but Itauma should win.
Wardley – a fallen contender?
Fabio Wardley will have a rematch with Dubois, and we'll see what kind of shape he is in. Wardley became the WBO champion because Usyk did not want to defend the title against Wardley, and he subsequently lost the belt to Dubois.
Many people consider Wardley a straightforward boxer, and I agree with them. That's how he lost, but I'm interested to see the rematch because he didn't reach such heights by accident. Although he looked weak in the fight against Dubois, I'm curious to see whether he learned from that defeat.
We can rule out Gassiev for objective reasons. And, to be honest, anyone would beat him.
The joker from Cuba
There is also Frank Sanchez, who was recently paid step-aside money so that Itauma and Hrgović could fight for the title. After Usyk vacated the belt, Sanchez fought American Richard Torrez in Egypt and earned the status of mandatory challenger for the title.
The promoters had to find him an opponent, but instead they simply reached an agreement with Sanchez to organize the Itauma–Hrgović fight. Sanchez is a decent fighter, but if Itauma beats Hrgović, Moses would easily defeat Sanchez in a head-to-head fight.
When could the new undisputed champion be determined?
Objectively, I would see the post-Usyk division playing out like this: Itauma beats Hrgović, while Dubois defeats Wardley in the rematch. Then there could be a unification fight between Kabayel and Gassiev, and Kabayel would win.
Then, for example, Itauma defends his title against Sanchez, while Dubois beats Kabayel. After that, Itauma and Dubois fight for undisputed status. And here I would pick Itauma because of Dubois' lower boxing IQ. I could see Itauma becoming the undisputed champion if everything goes according to plan.
If the division remains active (because Saudi money has entered the sport and without it, fighters are no longer as willing to fight), Itauma could become the undisputed heavyweight world champion next year.
