Roy Jones Jr shares opinion on rising heavyweight prospect: “Reminds me of a young Mike Tyson”

"We may have another guy that can be what Tyson was"

Roy Jones Jr had a glittering career in the ring, and since his retirement, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters ever to lace up. 

Having shared the ring - and triumphed - against fighters such as James Toney and Bernard Hopkins, it's fair to say the 56-year-old knows a thing or two about what it takes to be great. 

Speaking to TalkSport, he was full of compliments for the young and ruthless Moses Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs).

"I like Moses a lot. Moses reminds me of a young Mike Tyson. I say that in the fact that if you put a guy in front of him that he can hit, he's gonna get them out of there.

"Dillian Whyte was a guy who could get hit, and he got him out of there. That's the same thing Mike did on his way up."

Roy Jones never shared the ring with a young Mike Tyson, but you don’t have to have had the same unfortunate luck as many '90s heavyweights to understand how ferocious and terrifying a young ‘Iron Mike’ was.

Jones went on to suggest that Itauma could match the achievements of the former heavyweight king.

"I like that coming from Moses (knocking his opponents out early) because it gets us excited that we may have another guy that can be what Tyson was. That's a beautiful thought right there," the American stated.

"He may get better, he may not get there. We don't know. But the fact that we see the potential is exciting to me," the 56-year-old stated.

Itauma is coming off the back of a phenomenal win over Dillian Whyte. ‘The Body Snatcher’ looked way off the pace, with Itauma mercilessly breaking down his man and stopping the fight in the first round. 

11 of the 20-year-olds' 13 wins have come by knockout, with eight of those not making it past the three-minute mark. 

It’s difficult to say where the young Briton will end up, but it can be said with confidence that his ceiling appears limitless.