Tyson Fury issues instant response to Moses Itauma stopping Dillian Whyte

Tyson Fury hailed Moses Itauma as the 'future of boxing' after his devastating stoppage of Dillian Whyte.

Itauma blew away Whyte with a devastating first-round knockout in their all-British heavyweight clash in Riyadh. The 20-year-old extended his perfect record through 13 professional fights as he sent veteran Whyte sprawling to the canvas inside two minutes.

Former WBC interim heavyweight champion Whyte, 37, was not given any time to settle as Itauma – who had been made to wait in the ring by a delayed walk-in from his British rival – immediately went on the front foot. Southpaw Itauma tested Whyte with a flurry of early jabs before more precision shot combinations sent him back onto the ropes.

READ MORE: Moses Itauma DESTROYS Dillian Whyte in first round with stunning performance

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Another powerful right hook sent Whyte crashing to the floor and although he stumbled back onto his feet, the referee stepped in to wave off the contest with just over a minute left of the first round. On the back of another hugely impressive display, the calls will continue to grow for Slovakia-born Itauma to be handed a world title shot in 2026.

And Fury was quick to take to social media to hail the young Brit. "There he is, the future of boxing," he wrote. "I've been saying it for years."

Itauma has won all 13 of his professional fights, finishing 11 of his opponents early, and has already been tipped to fight undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk. But he told the BBC: "That's what I've been drilling for 12/13 weeks. I put on a performance for you guys so it's now who's next? I don't want to call out Usyk because I don't believe I deserve the opportunity but guys that do deserve the opportunity, I want to fight those lot. So maybe Agit Kabayel, maybe Joseph Parker. Maybe them type of names."

Itauma added at the post-fight press conference: "I'd love to get rounds in and Dillian Whyte was meant to give me rounds. I don't want to be bigheaded but it's not really my fault. I'm going to keep doing what I'm able to do and keep shining. Nobody thought I would knock him out in the first round.

"I've been boxing since I was nine years old; I've been boxing more than half my life. It might seem like an overnight success but I've been working on this for 11 years."