Moses Itauma blitzes Dillian Whyte in less than two minutes

“He’s quick, smart, and has the ability to move, said Dillian Whyte. “But can he take it when someone keeps coming? Can he handle real heat in the late rounds?”

Whyte had a pretty good idea what would be coming at him last Saturday in London.

Quick – Yes.

Smart -I’d say so.

Ability to move – an affirmative nod.

Can he handle the heat in the late rounds?

Incomplete.

Why?

Because we didn’t get close to the later rounds.

Moses Itauma, who recently turned 20, demolished Whyte in less than two minutes. This was no fight.

It was a massacre.

There were potential signs minutes before the bout began.

Whyte made Itauma wait six minutes until he entered the ring.

Mind games?

Could be.

The problem was that it didn’t work. Itauma, of Kent, by way of Slovakia, was cool and collected. His face was impassive. Whyte looked like he was sleepwalking. Maybe he wasn’t feeling it.

Seconds after the opening bell, southpaw Itauma slammed Whyte with some wicked hooks. The kid meant business. His bodywork had to hurt.

Whyte threw token jabs but was short of the target. Itauma’s twitchy speed was bothering him. He couldn’t keep up. Itauma was having no such issues. His jab connected.

He shifted into power mode and let fly, cracking Whyte with crisp hooks to the head (top), chin, and body.

Whyte slid sideways and went down on all fours – stunned and baffled. He tried to rise but had no balance, falling backwards into the ropes. The referee stopped the fight. Whyte didn’t like it, but his corner stayed quiet. They knew.

The quickness was stunning. Most everyone expected Itauma to win, but not that swiftly. Promoter Eddie Hearn said after the fight he figured four rounds.

Try 1:59 seconds.

Coming into the fight, many wondered what Whyte had left. He had won three fights in succession, but was hardly impressive.

He looked all his age (37) in recent weeks. Still, Whyte has a good reputation, despite having failed in every big fight he has participated in.

Three big fights, three knockout losses.

And there’s the rub.

His resiliency and chin.

Trainer Buddy McGuirt said this after the fight.

“To be honest, he looked good in camp, you know, but the guys we had don’t punch like this kid, you know what I mean, the guys that we were sparring? So he didn’t really get hit with any good, solid shots, you know, to see his reaction.”

“If he would have got hit with a good shot in camp and wobbled a little bit, then I would’ve [been] like, you know, ‘I think we need to think twice about this fight,’” he added.

After the fight, many boxing fans said Itauma should fight undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk next.

No – what’s the hurry?

Itauma looked good, but let’s not overreact.

“Hey Itauma, great job, way to get it done and look spectacular, man, “said former champion Tim Bradley on his YouTube channel. “Great performance, but the young gun ain’t ready for Usyk. This dude ain’t been past six rounds yet. What happens when you get him past six rounds?”

We’ll find out someday, but the kid looks like the real deal.