Billy Joe Saunders Calls Moses Itauma the Best Since Ali

Billy Joe Saunders doesn't do quiet takes, but this one still lands hard: the former two-weight world champion says Moses Itauma is the best heavyweight he's seen since Muhammad Ali. The 21-year-old is 14-0 with 12 knockouts and hasn't so much as fought at world level yet, which makes the comparison either reckless or prophetic.

Itauma gets his first real answer on August 29, when he meets Filip Hrgovic for the vacant IBF title. Win it and he becomes the youngest heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson — a line that's been following him around since he turned pro. His last outing was a fifth-round stoppage of fringe contender Jermaine Franklin in March, his 12th KO in 14 fights.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Saunders admitted people might think he's lost the plot, then doubled down anyway. He rates Itauma above every active heavyweight, and he named names — including WBO titleholder Daniel Dubois, who's 23-3 (22 KO) and coming off an 11th-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley.

Why Saunders Is Sold

The praise wasn't vague. Saunders pointed to Itauma's ability to fight off both feet, his slip-counter, and a specific sequence he says no other heavyweight can pull off: leaning away from a shot, firing a lead uppercut, then finishing with two or three more in the blink of an eye. Speed and versatility are the words that keep coming up.

For context on the Ali claim: this is a fighter regularly ranked among the greatest heavyweights ever, alongside Joe Louis and Lennox Lewis, and one whose footwork and rhythm nobody has truly copied at the top level. Ali also proved it against George Foreman and Joe Frazier. Itauma, ranked #6, hasn't been within touching distance of that kind of resume — yet.

Hrgovic is the toughest name on his ledger by a distance, and it's the fight that turns the hype into evidence or exposes it. If Saunders is even half right, the heavyweight division is about to get very interesting, very fast. We'll know a lot more on the 29th.