MOSES ITAUMA worries he may never get a Tyson Fury spar after he accidentally cursed some of Britain’s top heavyweight crop.
The freakishly-talented 18-year-old is a 6ft 3in silky southpaw, just like WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk.
Moses Itauma is 5-0 as a professional and has sparred almost all of Britain’s best heavyweightsRichard Pelham / The Sun
So it was wise when Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois drafted him into their camps to prepare for their bouts with the Ukraine genius.
And Joe Joyce called upon the services of the 5-0 Chatham ace in the build-ups to his back-to-back bouts with another rare leftie in Zhilei Zhang.
All three of those brave Londoners lost their bouts, leaving Tyson Fury at the top of the pile and free to have a Saudi showdown with MMA powerhouse Francis Ngannou.
Hopefully it will tee-up an undisputed decider between Usyk and the WBC Gypsy King and Itauma hopes his red-hot form does not deter the Morecambe giant from calling him.
“I hope the Fury and Usyk fight gets made because then I’m hopeful of getting some rounds in with him,” the Kent wonderkid said.
“But I have started to notice that everyone I have sparred lately for big fights have lost.
“I sparred AJ and Dubois for Usyk and Joyce for Zhang and all five fights have gone the wrong way.
“I don’t know if I am bad luck or if I’m leaving them with a bit of trauma but I hope it doesn’t stop me getting invited anywhere else”
When Dubois burst onto the scene in 2017 his reputation was boosted by rumours of flooring Joshua in sparring during their days on Team GB in Sheffield.
The hype around Itauma is similar – he started sparring 6ft 6in 38-year-old Joe Joyce when he was still a schoolboy and had to change out of his uniform in the gym.
But rather than boast about beating people in practice rounds, Itauma quietly earns rave reviews from rival fighters and trainers all over the country.
“Sparring stories always go around,” he said.
“I can’t complain because a lot of my early praise has come from sparring partners like Lawrence Okolie, Joshua, Joyce and Dubois bigging me up.
“Sparring is not fighting but it still shows skills and is the best way to learn so I want to mix with everyone and Fury is really the only big one I haven’t sparred.
“I get tips from everyone I work with, I appreciate everyone who invites me in because they are all ahead of me in their careers so far but I want to get where they are.”