Legendary fighter compares Moses Itauma to Mike Tyson

Roy Jones Jr has heaped huge praise on Moses Itauma after being impressed with the young heavyweight's stunning rise. 

Earlier this year, Itauma demonstrated his power and speed as he made light work of Jermaine Franklin as he became the first man to stop the tough American after ending matters in the fifth round. 

This result added to previous wins from Itauma which have included early first round knockouts against the likes of Dillian Whyte and Demsey McKean proving that he is ready to be taken seriously at the business end of the division. 

Itauma’s next fight is not confirmed but he holds high rankings with both the WBA and WBO and he will be an interested spectator when Fabio Wardley defends his world title against Daniel Dubois on May 9. 

Another potential option is Murat Gassiev, the WBA regular champion, but whoever is next, it looks like Itauma will be a big favourite based on current form. 

Jones Jr, a former world champion at heavyweight, likes what he has seen so far, and he has discussed just how far Itauma can go. 

“Is Moses Itauma the most exciting heavyweight since Mike Tyson? Right now, yes, I think he is. He’s got the explosive punching power that Mike Tyson had; if you can hit them before they hit you, most of the time you're going to knock them out,” said Jones Jr when speaking to Grosvenor Casinos. 

“That's what Mike did. Mike hit them before they hit him, and he got them out, because he was so explosive. So, if he can do that, he will knock out most of the heavyweights, but with Usyk, he's a little bit hard to hit. 

“Moses gives all the heavyweights a hard time. You can't say he beats them until you put them in front of them, because you haven't really seen him get cracked yet, but the only one I see that gives him the biggest problem is Usyk.”