MOSES ITAUMA-DILLIAN WHYTE, BALL-GOODMAN, CACACE-FORD SET FOR AUG. 16
Fast-rising heavyweight Moses Itauma will look to reach contender status as he’s in the process of finalizing a deal to meet Dillian Whyte on Aug. 16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, sources told The Ring.
The heavyweight clash features The Ring’s 2024 Prospect of the Year in his toughest test yet as he looks to reach contended status with a convincing victory. The bout will headline a Riyadh Season event surrounding the Esports World Cup and represents Itauma’s first major main event.
Nick Ball will defend his WBA featherweight title vs. Australia’s Sam Goodman in the chief-support bout.
Liverpool’s Ball, The Ring’s No. 3 boxer at 126 pounds, will make his third defense. Goodman, The Ring’s No. 4 boxer at 122, will move up one weight class for his first title shot.
In a third featured bout, former champions Anthony Cacace and Raymond Ford meet in a coin-flip junior lightweight fight. Cacace is rated No. 3 by The Ring at 130 pounds while Ford is 10th.
And it’s the big guys who will end the evening in the first event in Riyadh since Canelo Alvarez defeated William Scull in May.
Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs) is just 20 years old as he advances toward a title shot next year. The Slovakia native stopped Mike Balogun in two rounds last month. His litmus test will come against Whyte, 37, in an all-British clash.
Whyte (31-3, 21 KOs) was stopped by Tyson Fury in April 2023 in his lone title shot. He was set to meet Anthony Joshua in a rematch four months later, but a third incident concerning banned substances scrapped the fight. He was cleared to resume his career in March 2024 and scored two stay-busy wins last year.
Ball, at 5-foot-2, is quickly emerging as one of the U.K.’s top attractions. The 28-year-old broke out last year with a pair of thrilling fights. Ball (22-0-1, 13 KOs) was held to a disputed draw with Rey Vargas in March after he dropped the champion twice.
Ball won the title in June with a split-decision over Ford. His two defenses were inside-the-distance wins over Ronny Rios and TJ Downey. Now, Ball will face his second consecutive Australian opponent.
Goodman (20-0, 8 KOs) was set for his first title shot, a meeting with Naoya Inoue in Tokyo in December that was cancelled when he suffered a cut over his eye in sparring. The 26-year-old returned last month with a stay-busy decision win in Australia.
Belfast’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) continued his torrid run last month with a 10th-round stoppage of former champion Leigh Wood. The 36-year-old won the IBF title with an upset TKO victory over Joe Cordina in May 2024. Cacace comfortably outpointed another former champion, Josh Warrington, in September.
Ford (17-1-1, 8 KOs) was in two firefights last year; the other was a title-winning decision over Otabek Kholmatov in March. Down on the cards, Ford stopped Kholmatov with just seven seconds remaining in the fight. The 26-year-old from Camden, New Jersey, has now competed twice at 130 pounds.
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