Unbeaten heavyweight youngster Moses Itauma secured the WBA International and WBO Inter-Continental titles with a dominant knockout win over Mike Balogun in Glasgow.
Up-and-coming British heavyweight hopeful Moses Itauma continues his impressive winning streak. In the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow, the 20-year-old southpaw celebrated a spectacular knockout victory in the second round against 41-year-old American veteran Mike Balogun.
Itauma (12-0, 10 knockouts) left no doubt right from the start. He sent Balogun (21-2, 16 knockouts) to the floor with a precise straight left punch in the first half of the opening round. Although the US-American managed to survive the round break, it was quickly over in round two. A powerful right hook forced Balogun to the floor again – he stood at “9” again, but Itauma immediately followed up and ended the fight with another right hook to the chin with pinpoint accuracy. The referee stopped the fight just 46 seconds into the second round.
The youngster, promoted by Frank Warren, won the WBA International and WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight titles with this victory. Itauma already went into the fight as number 3 in the WBA and WBO rankings. He is also already ranked 7th in the IBF rankings – in the same weight class in which Daniel Dubois holds the world title. And this despite the fact that Itauma only turned professional in January 2023.
After early victories over Mariusz Wach and Demsey McKean, Itauma has once again proven that he is one of the hottest talents in the heavyweight division. His dominant performance on the undercard of Josh Taylor vs. Ekow Essuman should further underline his ambitions.