Warren on Itauma Situation: “Everyone’s Waiting for What Mr. Usyk Decides”

Queensberry Promotions founder and CEO Frank Warren explained why his 20-year-old heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma turned down the IBF final eliminator against Frank Sanchez.

“No decision has been made yet. We’re analyzing everything because we have to make the right moves at the right time. He’s only 20 years old — that’s the main thing. We’ll guide his career carefully, just like we do with most of our fighters: choosing the right time and the right opponents.

Some fights I tried to make didn’t happen — either because the fighters demanded world-title-level money or simply didn’t want to fight. Once Itauma gets a championship belt, everyone will want to fight him, because those will be title fights with big purses.

Right now, everyone is taking positions, waiting for what Mr. Usyk decides — and that’s what defines the current situation. We’ll announce Moses’ next opponent soon — his fight is set for December.

You know, I’m even glad that some fighters refused without even asking about the purse. I’d rather have an honest ‘no’ than hear meaningless numbers. When people ask for three or four million dollars for a fight, that’s just madness,” said Warren.

On August 16, Moses Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs) stopped Dillian Whyte in the first round. The 20-year-old Brit will headline the show on December 13 at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, though his opponent has yet to be announced.