Amir Khan urges Moses Itauma there is 'no rush' for Usyk fight

Amir Khan has urged Moses Itauma not to take a fight with Oleksandr Usyk next, as it is 'way too early', in the wake of his devastating knockout of Dillian Whyte.

Instead of taking on Usyk, he suggested Itauma take another small step forward to someone like Filip Hrgovic.

Khan said: “He has time on his hands. I don’t think he should be rushed; they should take their time on him. 

“I think it’s way too early for a fight against Usyk. Let’s build him up slowly. We want to see him in a long career, not a short career. I don’t think he should take that fight. I think he should meet the likes of [Filip] Hrgovic, maybe. For his next fight, that would be good. That’s a step up. [Joseph] Parker is another step up.” 

• Read next | Moses Itauma trainer explains why Dillian Whyte knockout was an 'anticlimax'

Itauma is coming off the biggest win of his career last weekend, knocking out Dillian Whyte in a fight that was supposed to take the heir apparent into deep water for the first time. 

Khan was as shocked as everyone else when he saw this young prospect run through Dillian Whyte in less than a round. He even admitted that he had not seen Itauma fight before, but was blown away by what he saw. 

He said: “I had never seen him fight before, but I heard a lot about him. When I saw how fast his hands were, I was like ‘wow, this guy fights like a lightweight’. The speed, the power, the movement, everything was on point. 

“I don’t think anyone expected that performance. I know we thought he would probably get the win, but he would have to dig deep. But he made it look so easy." 

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