Moses Itauma names Aloys Junior and Royston Barney-Smith
Heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma identifies his stablemates as the future leaders of British boxing ahead of his IBF title challenge.
Moses Itauma has identified Aloys Junior and Royston Barney-Smith as the fighters who will lead the next generation of British boxing. The 21-year-old heavyweight prospect named the two fighters when asked who he believes represents the future of the sport.
Both Junior and Barney-Smith train alongside Itauma under the guidance of coach Ben Davison. Junior is scheduled to face Mike Perez, a former cruiserweight world title challenger, on the undercard of the upcoming Itauma-Hrgovic bout.
Barney-Smith enters his next contest with an undefeated record of 17-0. He recently secured a points victory over former British super-featherweight champion Reece Bellotti during the Pierce O’Leary vs. Mark Chamberlain event earlier this month. The super-featherweight is currently ranked as the world number 8 by the WBO and number 10 by the IBF.
Itauma's own career is approaching a significant milestone as he prepares to challenge Filip Hrgovic for the IBF heavyweight world title on August 29. A win would make the Kent-based fighter the second-youngest heavyweight champion in history, trailing only Mike Tyson. Hrgovic previously lost an IBF Interim title fight to Daniel Dubois in 2024.
The winner of the main event between Itauma and Hrgovic is expected to fight Frank Sanchez before the conclusion of the year.