10 January 2023 , 14:30
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Teenage heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma has revealed his sparring with Anthony Joshua was "crazy".
Itauma made a huge impression as an amateur following the coronavirus pandemic and last week signed with Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions. The young star will make his first appearance on the undercard of Anthony Yarde's world title challenge against Artur Beterbiev on January 28 at Wembley Arena, with many tipping him to go right to the top.
The British star already has already mixed it with the best and has shared rounds with the likes of Lawrence Okolie, stablemate Joe Joyce and Joshua. And Itauma believes the atmosphere during camps for big fights will help him make huge improvements on his own career.
"They are learning experiences and obviously sparring is not a real fight but it is all valuable for my career," Itauma told Mirror Fighting today after his professional debut was announced for later this month. "Going to Joshua's camp was crazy, obviously I wasn't in their for ages because I had my own thing going on but it was a great experience.
"It was a great atmosphere to be around and it was exciting times for me being in sparring with him. Yeah it was crazy, I've also sparred Joe Joyce and Lawrence Okolie so it's been great."
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Joshua is currently in the US searching for a new trainer following his decision to split with American trainer Robert Garcia following his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk. 'AJ' will be looking to rebuild this year after falling further than ever from the world titles which are currently held by Usyk and bitter rival Fury.
Moses Itauma will make his heavyweight debut later this monthWill you be watching Moses Itauma's debut later this month? Let us know in the comments section below
It is expected the British heavyweight will now begin camp with a view to returning in April as he eyes a three-fight year which could include contests against Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder. And despite the collapse of his potential return fight with Tyson Fury in December, Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn believes the plan could be revived for the pair to meet at the end of the year.
He told the DAZN Boxing Show: “The plan now is to rebuild him to become a three-time heavyweight world champion, and the trainer will want to take the appropriate steps to do that. It’s all very well being brave, listening to Twitter, going out, and fighting Deontay Wilder [next] and doing this and doing that, but there has to be a plan, a smart plan.
"A smart plan is he wants to return against a top 15 guy in a credible fight and return in the summer against probably Dillian Whyte and then move forward against Wilder or Tyson Fury in a mega-fight in the ultimate 2023."