Moses Itauma vs Demsey McKean Predictions: The best heavyweight prospect around?

Heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma returns this Saturday, December 21 against Demsey McKean. The fight adorns the undercard of Tyson Fury’s heavyweight title rematch against champion Oleksandr Usyk. The bout takes place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh with DAZN, Sky Sports Box Office and TNT Sports Box Office screening live.

Here are my Itauma vs McKean predictions ahead of this heavyweight contest.

People are getting incredibly carried away with Slovakia-born, Kent-raised prospect Itauma. It is easy to see why. Still only 19 years of age, the heavyweight hope is 10-0 with eight knockouts. Itauma is already world-ranked by the WBO, IBF and WBA. 

Itauma is in a hurry, saying that he wants to try and break Mike Tyson’s record as the youngest heavyweight champion. ‘Iron’ Mike was 20 years and four months old when he blitzed Trevor Berbick back in 1986. Itauma is 19 years and 11 months old, which means he’ll have to get a wriggle on. 

Even if Itauma falls short of that incredibly-lofty goal, it is clear he has something very special. The teenager was sparring Anthony Joshua at the age of 16. More recently, Itauma has worked with both Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois ahead of their respective fights with Oleksandr Usyk. Itauma is a southpaw, he is the same height as the Ukrainian and while it is too early to compare them, they do share a characteristic slickness.

What separates the two is the one-punch power of Itauma. When he lands cleanly, he can put almost any heavyweight in trouble. Ask Mariusz Wach, who fought Wladimir Klitschko for the world title once upon a time. 

The Pole has gone the distance with the likes of Frazer Clarke, Dillian Whyte and Hughie Fury. But Itauma battered him in two rounds. A fight designed to give the young heavy some rounds against an experienced campaigner ended up being another clip for his highlight reel.

They like him in these parts. This is the third time that Riyadh Season head honcho Turki Alalshikh has had Itauma over to Saudi. His previous visits have ended in knockout wins. Hungary’s amateur standout Istvar Bernath went down in just one round to the Kent phenom while Ilja Mezencev never made it out of the second.

Itauma will be hoping that his Riyadh run continues. Hoping to prevent exactly that is McKean, another step-up in class for the teenager. The Aussie has been out of the ring since a 12th-round knockout loss to Filip Hrgovic in August 2023. McKean was undefeated going into that fight, but appeared to get found out at world class.

But Hrgovic is a top heavyweight and McKean did make him look rather ordinary at times. It was a messy, unappealing fight in which neither man looked great. Look for McKean to try and make this a slog for his young foe. Itauma has fast hands when he opens up and McKean will do anything he can to stymie that momentum.

McKean is coming in with a decent 14 knockouts in his 22 wins. His CV lacks a real standout victory and despite Itauma’s tender years, a win here would be McKean’s biggest yet. It is a tall order given his inactivity of late. You have to go back to October 2022 for his last victory, a three-round stoppage of Patrick Korte.

Getting win number 23 will be double-tough. McKean is going in with someone that has quickly been anointed the future of the division. But many are the prospects who have fallen foul of ramped-up expectations early in their careers. Itauma still has it all to do in Riyadh. 

Itauma vs McKean Fight Odds

McKean is up against it here as demonstrated in the 8/1 betting odds. Itauma is a comfortable 1/16 while a draw is 25/1, reflective of the unlikelihood of these two punchers going the distance.

Itauma vs McKean Full Card

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury

Serhii Bohachuk vs. Ishmael Davis

Moses Itauma vs. Demsey McKean

Johnny Fisher vs. Dave Allen

Isaac Lowe vs. Lee McGregor

Peter McGrail vs. Rhys Edwards

Itauma vs McKean Prediction

This is a great showcase for Itauma. I think McKean is on the slide given his loss to Hrgovic and dearth of activity. Taking this fight speaks to a man who has parked world title ambitions and entered the “opponent” stage of his journey.

McKean won’t outwardly feel that way of course. But if he wanted a path back to big bouts this was not the one to take. Itauma is a monster and nothing about his game suggests he’s there for the taking.

I think Itauma wins big on the night. I’m taking a knockout victory for the teen sensation. But at 3/10 I crave more value. So let’s go big and back the Price Boost of Itauma in rounds 1-3 which is available at 4/1, up from 100/30.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.