Frank Warren Backs Moses Itauma Next Fight as Joshua Test

Frank Warren put moses itauma next fight into sharper focus by saying Anthony Joshua would have been better served facing the young heavyweight than Kristian Prenga. Joshua is scheduled to box Prenga on July 25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while Warren made clear he thinks Itauma would have been the tougher warm-up.

Warren Picks Itauma Over Prenga

“[Anthony Joshua] has got this warm-up fight coming up against the guy he’s fighting,” Warren said. “Me, I’d love him to have had that warm-up fight against Moses. That would have been a great warm-up and a good test for him.”

That view places Itauma directly in the conversation around Joshua’s comeback, not as a name for later down the line but as the kind of opponent who would have tested him before a bigger stage. Many around Joshua have treated the Prenga fight as a tune-up bout, but Warren’s comments pointed to a different standard for that spot on the card.

Itauma’s 14-Win Run

Itauma has not fought since his knockout victory over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December. He has finished 12 of his 14 opponents, a record that explains why Warren is pushing him toward a world title sooner rather than later.

Warren called him “brilliant,” then added: “His composure, his speed, his boxing brain, everything… the maturity he showed for such a young fighter is unbelievable.”

Joshua’s Saudi Arabia Date

The Joshua-Prenga bout is set for July 25 in Riyadh, and the fight carries extra weight because Turki Alalshikh and Eddie Hearn have already said Joshua’s fight against Tyson Fury has been signed. That leaves Prenga in the role of the scheduled comeback opponent while Itauma’s profile keeps rising.

For Joshua, the short-term task is straightforward: get through Prenga in Riyadh. For Itauma, Warren’s comments add pressure upward, because the promoter’s view was plain — the heavyweight he would have liked to see in that slot is already being talked about as a world-title fighter sooner rather than later.