Moses Itauma vs Mariusz Wach Preview July 27th, 2024
Unbeaten heavyweight prospect Moses Ituama of Slovakia be taking a small step up in class on Saturday, July 27th when he meets Mariusz Wach of Krakow, Poland. The 10-rounder from London, England can be seen live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK and Ireland while fans in America can catch it on ESPN+. Ituama, a southpaw, who resides in England, last saw action in May when he halted Ilja Mezencev in the second round to win the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Title which he’ll be defending this weekend. Wach last fought in October when he beat Michal Boloz by 10-round unanimous decision.
Wach vs Ituama Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Mariusz Wach +1600
- Moses Itauma -5000
My Pick
Wach is a 44-year-old veteran and is definitely the bigger boxer here as he’s just over 6-feet-7-inches tall and has a wingspan of 82 inches. He isn’t really a power puncher though as 52.6 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and he makes the ring walk with a record of 38-10 with 20 Ko’s. He turned pro in 2005 and has quite a bit of experience with 312 rounds to his name.
Along with being stopped by Jarrell Miller in nine rounds in 2017, he was also stopped by Alexander Povetkin by 12th-round TKO in 2015. In addition, Wach was halted in eight rounds in April, 2019 by Martin Bakole for the vacant Polish International Heavyweight Title. Wach once failed in an attempt at a world title in the past as he dropped a unanimous decision to Wladimir Klitschko in 2012.
His other losses were a 10-round split decision to fellow countryman Artur Szpilka in 2018; a 10-round unanimous decision to Dillian Whyte in 2019; a 10-round unanimous decision to Hughie Fury in 2020; a sixth-round stoppage to Arslanbek Makhmudov in 2022; a 10-round unanimous decision to Kevin Lerena in September, 2022 and a 10-rounbd points decision to Frazer Clarke last Ju ne. Wach has been stopped four times in his career and has lost five of his last eight bouts.
Most of Wach’s other opponents have mainly been journeymen such as Kevin McBride, Tye Fields, Galen Brown, Jason Gavern, Julius Long, Arthur Cook, Travis Walker and Marcelo Luiz Nascimento. Wach, who has also participated in mixed martial arts, had a good amateur career and was a Polish National Champion. He won a silver medal at the European Union Championships and was an Olympic alternate for Poland in 2004. Since turning pro he’s captured the IBF East/West Europe, WBC International, WBC Baltic, TWBA, and Polish International Heavyweight Titles.
Ituama is just 19 years old and climbs through the ropes with a perfect mark of 9-0 with 7 Ko’s and has boxed just 20 rounds since making his pro debut in January, 2023. Ituama, who is the brother of boxer Karol Ituama, was also unbeaten as an amateur as he went 24-0 with 11 Ko’s. He captured gold medals at the schoolboy, junior, Youth European and the Heavyweight Youth World levels. He stands just over 6-feet-2-inches tall and reportedly has a 78.5-inch reach, so he gives up five inches in height to Wach and 3.5-inches in reach.
As far as power is concerned, Ituama has plenty of it as his current knockout ratio kicks in at 77.8 per cent. The only opponents who went the distance with him were Kevin Espindola and Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko who both went six rounds with him in consecutive bouts in April and July of last year. Five of his nine opponents have had winning records and Wach will be a step up in class for Ituama, who hopes to eventually break Mike Tyson’s record as becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history.
Prediction…
Wach is an aging but pretty durable heavyweight who has never been a consistent top-10 contender but has enjoyed some good moments throughout his pro career. If he’s at his best and uses his size he could give Ituama a bit of bother, but if he’s not in top form I’m expecting Ituama to stop him before the 10-rounds are up and that’s the most likely outcome here.
Ituama is 25 years younger and has more power.
Play Ituama -5000 @ BetOnline.ag
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Mariusz Wach betting • Moses Ituama betting