#1-ranked Moses Itauma and WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight champion Kubrat Pulev have been ordered by the sanctioning body to start negotiations for a fight. The deadline for a deal to be agreed on is November 14th.
Fans are already criticizing Itauma today over the news of the WBA ordering him and Pulev to fight. They’re predicting that Itauma will take the fight to win a belt without risking a loss.
One other Aging Opponent
If I were Itauma, I wouldn’t take the fight since it’s meaningless. But given Itauma’s track record for fighting older guys to construct his unbeaten, this fight is so him.
It’s the proper situation for the 20-year-old Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs) to grow to be a world champion without risking a loss. With a victory, Moses can be a secondary WBA champion. In other words, the lesser champion. The belt-holder that possesses the distinguished WBA title is Oleksandr Usyk.
The 44-year-old Pulev (32-3, 14 KOs) suits the category of the style of opposition the Queensberry-promoted Itauma has been fighting since he turned pro in 2023. Three of his opponents have been of their 40s, and plenty of have been of their mid-30s.
It’s unclear whether Itauma will go together with the WBA’s order to fight Pulev. If he takes the fight, it’s going to be a nasty search for him, on condition that he recently opted to not comply with an IBF title eliminator to battle Frank Sanchez. Fighting Pulev would make Itauma seem like he’s being maneuvered right into a title.
If Itauma is nearly as good as his fans and promoters have hyped him as much as be, it’s pointless for him to fight Pulev to grow to be the WBA secondary champion.
Still No Step-Up
What Itauma must have done was fight Sanchez to indicate that he’s the true thing, not the hype job that some boxing fans suspect him to be. It’s hard to not view Itauma in that light when one looks on the lower-level opposition he’s faced as a professional.
There must have been a step-up opponent by this point to check whether Itauma is the products, but there hasn’t been one. That’s a red flag. The Sanchez fight or the Filip Hrgovic fight would have been perfect match-ups for Moses to prove he’s not as fake as some fans think.
Since 2015, Olly Campbell has brought readers clear ringside perspective and a gradual voice on boxing’s biggest nights.
Last Updated on 10/15/2025