Out with the old, in with the new – Dillian Whyte vs. Moses Itauma

One fighter is 37

The other is 20.

The older one has fought more well-known fighters.

The younger one, not so much, but his explosiveness has caused a sensation.

One was first known for beating a future heavyweight champion in the amateurs.

Boxing scribes have had their eyes on the younger one since he was 13.

Dillian Wythe and Moses Itauma will throw hands this Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

Though the oddsmakers have made Itauma a big favorite, Whyte’s trainer Buddy McGirt is confident.

“I have never seen Moses fight,” McGirt said recently. “So I really don’t know what he’s ready for. He’s gotta bring it all. “I says, ‘Dill, listen, let’s just be realistic here. What could this kid do that you haven’t already seen?’ But can that kid ask the same question? Can Dillian do something that this kid hasn’t seen before?”

A good question.

Wythe (31-3, 21 KOs) has been fighting professionally for 14 years. His three losses have all come by knockout at the hands of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Alexander Povetkin. He avenged his loss to Povetkin in 2021 and beat Joseph Parker and Derek Chisora twice.

“They say I’m too old,” Whyte said last week. “That I’ve taken too many shots. That Moses is too fast. I’ve heard it all. But the thing about this game—experience still counts for something. You can’t fake that.”

Ten years ago, it was Whyte who was the resident hotshot. He won his first 16 fights, scoring 13 knockouts, until he faced his amateur rival, Joshua. The fight was a scrapper. Whyte wobbled Joshua, but ended up flat on his back in round seven.

He’s won 15 of 17 since being KO’d by Povetkin stunningly, and fighting a bizarre fight against Fury. He appears to be in good shape and a good mood, as if he knows something.

“Even if I’m not the man I was in 2016, I’m not 40 yet either,” Whyte told reporters. “I’ve been through hell. Now I’m walking back through the fire.”

Itauma was undefeated in the amateur ranks and turned pro while still a teenager. He’s won his first 12 fights in succession, scoring 10 knockouts.

“He’s quick. He’s smart. He knows how to move,” said Whyte.“But can he take it when someone keeps coming? Can he fight inside? Can he handle real heat in the late rounds?”

Itauma has remained low-key during the build-up to the fight.

“Dillian is a big name, good opposition,” he said during a podcast with Toe2Toe. “It’s for me to go in there and do the job. I’ve got to box to a game plan. If I box to the game plan, it shouldn’t be a long night.”

Still, he is feeling some pressure due to expectations.

“If I go in there and knock Dillian Whyte out in the first two rounds, it’d be like ‘Moses was always going to do that,” told DAZN said in an interview a few days ago.

“If I go the distance then it would be ‘maybe Moses ain’t what we think he is.”

“If I lose the fight, then it’s ‘Dillian Whyte was always better.”