Moses Itauma ruthlessly stopped Dillian Whyte in the first round of their clash in Saudi Arabia to claim his biggest professional win.
It took the 20-year-old less than two minutes to finish his 37-year-old opponent, ending the show with a vicious right hook to the head which sent his opponent sprawling.
Itauma quickly found himself in the ascendancy as Whyte struggled to land his shots, and found himself being pelted by jabs and body shots as he was pinned against the ropes.
The youngster was widely seen as the favourite to win, but it was still impressive for him to do it so quickly.
Itauma has now won all 13 of his fights, 11 of those by knockout, and nine of them have been over within the first round.
Seen as the biggest prospect for the future of the heavyweight division, this was the biggest-name scalp of his career and he appears destined to challenge Oleksandr Usyk.
Moses Itauma brutally finished Dillian Whyte in the first round of their Saudi Arabia contest
This was the biggest victory of Itauma’s career and his 13th straight win without defeat
Whyte came into this in his best shape in years but barely landed a punch against Itauma
Itauma told DAZN: ‘It takes two to tango so thanks very much (to Whyte) for the opportunity to showcase my skills.
‘To be honest, what Ben (Davison) was telling me what to do, for the first two or three minutes, I saw he was doing exactly what Ben was telling me to do. After the first minute, I thought, I keep seeing this happen and can’t miss him. Brilliant game plan.
‘What’s next? What’s next? What’s next? Honestly, I’ll fight anybody they put in front of me. Shout out a name and I’ll be there.
‘Joseph Parker and Agit Kabayel do deserve the shot (against Usyk).
‘These lot are saying Usyk. What’s the crowd saying? Listen, I’m ranked number one with the WBO, Parker is also with that so that’s a good fight.
‘All these fights can happen, so it’s bigger and better. What’s next? I’m only 20 years old, I’ve got 10 or 15 years left, so there’s going to be a lot of this face for years.
‘If I get the opportunity, I will be 100 per cent (a champion in 2026).’
Whyte came into this one looking in outstanding shape and was weighing his lightest in 10 years.
Itauma poses after retaining his WBA and WBO Intercontinental belts (though he would have either way)
Itauma was only 10 years old when Whyte had his clash with Anthony Joshua in 2015, and since that defeat, the Body Snatcher has claimed a series of scalps in Derek Chisora, Lucas Browne, and Parker.
The build-up to the fight was marked by a humorous controversy earlier in the week when Whyte fumed as the announcer for the Grand Arrivals referred to him as the ‘Baby Snatcher’ rather than the ‘Body Snatcher’.
But Whyte showed little sign of snatching anything in this contest as he was comprehensively beaten by the prospect.
Itauma’s promoter Frank Warren told DAZN: ‘I was surprised. I thought itd be a bit longer than that.
‘But he’s a finisher – he catches you, doesn’t get flustered, every punch he throws is a hurtful punch and measured. He’s an unbelievable boxing talent and probably the best at this stage of his career that I’ve been involved with.’
‘I’ve watched that back and it was punch-perfect. He’s done that to an accomplished heavyweight who has beat some of the best. Nobody has done that to him.’
Manager Francis Warren told DAZN: ‘He’s a once-in-a-generation talent. The fact that he has done this to somebody of Dillian Whyte’s pedigree is mind-blowingly scary for the rest of the division.
‘I think he’s ready for the next step up, and he thinks he is. He genuinely believes he’s ready to be let off the leash. When the opportunity knocks, he will certainly answer. His feet are firmly on the ground but he is reaching for the stars.’
