Teddy Atlas has his say on Oleksandr Usyk vs Moses Itauma

Teddy Atlas believes that patience is required when discussing a fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. 

Last weekend, Itauma demonstrated his world class qualities once again as he produced a brutal display to stop Dillian Whyte in the opening session in Saudi Arabia. 

Beforehand, many had expected Whyte to finally be the man to test Itauma, but his quest to cause a big upset unravelled almost immediately as Itauma blew him away. 

Instantly, the focus switched to a world title shot for Itauma and with Usyk holding all four titles, that has become a logical fight for some within the sport. 

The Ukrainian master holds an impeccable record against British fighters and he added to it last month when he stopped Daniel Dubois for a second time at Wembley. 

Usyk vs Itauma would likely do big business in 2026, but Teddy Atlas, a former trainer of Mike Tyson and Michael Moorer, has urged caution with the heavyweight prospect. 

“If I’m with Moses, I’m saying let him get one or two more fights before we go to the top of Mount Everest. Let’s climb a couple more peaks, and then we’re ready for the ultimate,” said Atlas when speaking on his The Fight podcast. 

“I don’t want to see the Usyk fight. And I’m very honest about the reasons why. I want to see Usyk go off into the sunset.  

“I’m not saying he can’t beat him, I’m not saying that, I won’t go against Usyk with anybody, he’s that special, but I think at this point in his career, after Usyk gets through his next fight, let him go off into the sunset.”