Itauma says he beats fighters and then hears the same reaction every time. They are washed. They were done. They were not the same. He says he will never get credit. He said it again recently in an interview with iFL TVand frames the reaction as something unfair that keeps happening to him.
The problem is not perception. The problem is arithmetic.
Watch the run. Dillian Whyte at 37. Mike Balogun at 41. Mariusz Wach at 44. Dan Garber at 38. Even the younger names are not peers. They are exits. This is not a list that confuses anyone. This is a list that explains the reaction perfectly.
Fans are not cruel. They are literal. If any heavyweight prospect had flattened that collection of opponents, the language would be the same. This is not an Itauma tax. This is how boxing works when the competition is visibly on the way.
When Itauma complains, he does himself no favors. It comes off less like confidence and more like resentment. Fans don’t want sympathy from a heavyweight sold as inevitable. They want recognition. Say it’s ladder battles. Say these are steps. Say the division is thin. and this is how careers are built. What they don’t want is surprise that context exists.
The Whyte example is the clearest one. Whyte has been slowing down for years. He was stopped by Tyson Fury. He was knocked out by Alexander Povetkin. He worked against Ebenezer Tetteh in 2024. None of it was hidden. Itauma who quickly knocked him out did not reset the clock.
Itauma wants credit without consequence. He wants the benefit of beating names without the responsibility of what those names actually represent at that stage. Boxing doesn’t work like that.
If he wants a different response, the solution is boring and inevitable. Fight someone closer to his own future. Until then, the noise is not disrespect. This is accuracy.
Itauma vs. veteran Jermaine Franklin next on January 24, 2026 at the Co Op Live Arena in Manchester, England. The event will be broadcast live on DAZN.
