Leo Atang: I've got to live up to what Moses Itauma's done. It's a pressure that's been forced on me
Leo Atang is a teenage heavyweight prospect, but he insists he's not the next Moses Itauma; "I'm not going to be the next anybody. I'm going to be myself," Atang said; He thinks a fight with Itauma will eventually happen; "The world title's the goal for me," he said. "That's the plan"
Friday 17 April 2026 13:54, UK
A top heavyweight prospect, like Leo Atang, is now under pressure.
Moses Itauma turned professional as a teenager and now, still only 21 years old, has firmly established himself as a world-level contender in rapid time.
That high-speed ascension has set a modern precedent, but one that not every heavyweight should follow.
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Atang is just 19 years old and is going into his sixth professional fight in Liverpool this Saturday. He is a promising talent, with a 100 percent knockout ratio so far.
But he's at pains to point out his progression won't be the same as teen wonderkid Itauma.
"I'm not going to be the next anybody. I'm going to be myself. He's done his own thing. He's gone fast and fair play to him. Everyone moves at different rates, different speeds," Atang told Sky Sports.
He does though intend to plot his own course to the top of the heavyweight division. That would surely entail, eventually, boxing Itauma himself. Time, after all, is on their side when it comes to making that bout.
"Of course, it'll happen but when the time's right. There's no rush for either of us. We can wait and build our names and when the time's right, it'll be a massive fight," Atang said.
"There's no disrespect or nothing like that. At the end of the day he's got to do his job, I've got to do mine and I'm sure it will happen down the line."
But he added: "I feel like I've had it tougher just because he was the only one to do it at the start, so everyone's always praised him. Whereas me I've almost got to do it in his shadow, I've got to live up to what he's done. So I've also really had that pressure on the start I feel like.
"It's a pressure I wouldn't say I put on myself but it's almost been forced upon me from outside noise."
He has to continue his development this year and work through the apprenticeship phase of his career, but he expects to gradually figure in the championship picture.
"The world title's the goal for me," Atang said. "That's the plan.
"I know I'm on the right path at the moment, I know I'm at the right pace as well. When it's time to let me off the leash, that's up to the team to let me know.
"I'm grounded enough to know I'm not where I need to be to be calling out big names," he continued. "I know I'm far from that. But when it comes to that of course I want to be up there.
"When it's time, it's going to make it a lot more fun to get into some big fights in the heavyweight division."
