Itauma’s professional journey has been brief but brutal. He has boxed just 26 rounds in his pro career – and many of those were cut short.
He demolished Marcel Bode in just 23 seconds on his debut in January 2023 at Wembley Arena. But just like the Whyte fight, the early ending brought little joy.
“I didn’t care,” he reflects. “My brother suffered his first loss, literally a couple of minutes before. To be honest, I didn’t even want to fight that day.”
Family is the core of the Itauma story. His brother, light-heavyweight Karol Itauma, sits behind the cameras during fight week duties. The bond was forged through a 1,050-mile journey from Kezmarok, beneath Slovakia’s Tatra Mountain, to Chatham in Kent.
Born to a Slovak mother and Nigerian father, their early years were defined by racism and a search for a place to belong.
“Me and my brothers, we don’t look very Slovak, and that kind of limited opportunities that we can have in that country,” says Itauma.
“My mum was like, they’re probably going to have more opportunities and a better upbringing if they move to a country where people of mixed-race backgrounds are more common.”
Those sacrifices influenced every decision that followed. Itauma started boxing at nine, but it wasn’t until 14 that he decided to take it seriously.
“My mum sacrificed a lot coming over to the UK,” he says. “I need to kind of make it. So, yeah, it’s difficult, but I’m happy that my mum made the decisions and obviously I’m following through.”
That “family first” mentality is why he snubbed the Olympic route with Team GB to sign with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions.
“The short and sweet of it was that my family needed the money,” he adds.