Moses Itauma reveals what it's like to spar with Tyson Fury

Nigeria-born rising heavyweight boxer Moses Itauma says he’s learning from the very best right now.

The young man they call ‘Enriko’ has built an 11-0 pro record on the back of some highlight-reel knockouts – nine of those victories have come inside the first two rounds. He is an incredible talent with devastating power, speed and remarkable ring IQ for one so young.

The 20-year-old may not have faced the very best yet in a real fight, but he has in sparring sessions. And some of those sessions were against the former two-time heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

Both men are promoted by Hall of Famer Frank Warren, and Itauma has opened up on what sparring ‘The Gypsy King’ is really like.

Speaking in an interview with BoxNation, “It was, it was very intense. I got there on a Monday. Tyson sparred Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I got there on Monday, so obviously I wasn’t gonna spar that Monday – I figured I’d be sparring on Tuesday. Then Tuesday comes around, and they say, ‘Nah, you’re not sparring. ’

“I said like, ‘Why did you even bring me here if I’m not gonna spar?’

“Then, obviously, they took it to the extreme and made me spar every day. But I mean, I liked it, though. I like it because, you know, Tyson and I we’ve shared, we’ve done some good rounds. I remember on a Thursday, we did some heavy rounds – my body was in bits.

“Anyways, gotta do it all again. On Friday. Then we had a two-day rest, a little recovery and stuff, and on Monday we were back at it – six rounds. Tyson goes, ‘Bring the heat, Moses, don’t take it easy on me. ’ I’m like, ‘Ah, cool’.

“So we have another scrap, another session. And it’s just absolute carnage.”

Itauma says that while he learned so much from being inside a ring with Fury, he has also learned much from being around him outside the ropes.

“I just wanted to add as well, see, see with Tyson, it’s not just the rounds, we had two dinners at his villa where I got to ask so many questions, and even to his manager Spencer [Brown], and, Sugar [Hill Steward] his trainer, and even his nutritionist.

“I didn’t get to speak to his nutritionist, but I usually do that. I learned so much, especially with someone like Shane, his brother, who hasn’t been in the ring himself, but has been around boxing.

“It’s a privilege, Tyson was like talking, I’m like, wait there for a minute, lemme just type it in my phone, and obviously when, when we got in a car and I spoke to me and my brothers, what do you think about this, what do you think about that and XYZ, and it does help with my career.”

We now have just a few days until Itauma will be in a professional ring again – his next fight will take place in Glasgow on Saturday, May 24