Moses Itauma fight date moved back to avoid clash with Anthony Joshua

Published On Thursday, May 7, 2026By Tim Rickson

Moses Itauma fight date moved back two weeks

Moses Itauma's next fight has been moved back to August 8 after it was announced Anthony Joshua would be fighting Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Saudi Arabia.

Frank Warren announced in April that Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) will next be fighting at The O2 Arena in London on July 25, but that has now been rescheduled to August 8.

To prevent a direct conflict for audience attention, promoter Frank Warren sensibly confirmed the decision to move his heavyweight prodigy's bout back two weeks, "He will fight now on August 8th, that’s what will happen," Warren told the Ariel Helwani Show.

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The southpaw from Chatham in Kent became the first to KO Michigan man Jermaine Franklin, who had never been stopped in 27 bouts, which included two 12-round contests with both Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte.

Moses KO'd the durable American in five rounds and that emphatic victory saw the WBO announce the 21-year-old as their mandatory challenger.

However, there is a queue forming.

This weekend, the reigning WBO heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley defends that title against Daniel Dubois on May 9.

Ranked WBO and WBA #1, Itauma is unlikely to fight the winner in his next bout, as the victor will push for their right to challenge unified titlist Oleksandr Usyk, who fights Rico Verhoeven on May 23.

Wardley and Itauma are gym-mates under Ben Davison's stable, so a title clash with Dubois would appeal more to the Kent man, although he would be sad to see his friend Fabio lost the belt.

Moses previously told Sky Sports: “If Fabio wins then it’ll be sticky [situation], but if Dubois wins then that fight makes sense.

Both Wardley and Dubois were sat ringside for Itauma’s devastating victory over Franklin, as all three Brits are signed to Queensberry Promotions.

“I don’t think they’re worried. I think they’re both like 'Oh! This guy’s in my division,'” Itauma commented on his spectators.

Itauma's opponent hasn't yet been named, but it will have to be a very well-respected name to be able to fill out a 20,000 seater arena.

British heavyweight champion Richard Riakporhe (20-1, 16 KOs) would make for an ideal dancing partner, as he has the Lonsdale belt in his possession, the title every young boxer from the UK dreams of winning.

'The Midnight Train' has lost just once at world level against WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith, winning five rounds on two of the cards, and has since won his last three fights by knockout within five rounds and less.

A collision of these two British heavyweights from the south east would certainly fill the London-based venue. Incidentally, BoxRec places Riakporhe #6 and Itauma #7 in the British heavyweight rankings.

Jarrell Miller is also a suitable name to throw in the hat, as he is placed one spot below Moses in the WBA standings.

Despite being a prolific drug cheat, the 37-year-old bulky Brooklyn boxer has been landing big bouts. Only last month, he defeated Cuban prospect Lenier Pero unanimously over 12-rounds in Las Vegas. The New Yorker has taken former world champion and Anthony Joshua slayer Andy Ruiz Jr the distance over a 12-round draw, which many believed Miller should have won. His sole defeat came in the last 10 seconds of a 10-round with Daniel Dubois.

Moses vs Miller would have everyone drawing comparisons with his performance versus Dubois' and Ruiz's to further provide a measurement to his potential on the world scene.

Murat Gassiev is the third top name that makes perfect sense, as the 32-year-old Russian has the WBA Regular belt. 'Iron' is 7-1 at heavyweight, after moving up from cruiserweight in 2020. He went 12-rounds with Usyk, although one scorecard had him losing every single round.