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Speaker 1: Well, it's my pleasure. Welcome to our podcast.

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Speaker 2: This week for the first time, it's the heavyweight up

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and comer prospect some stay contender. It's Moses Etama. Moses.

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I'll tell the folks what's going on. You've got a

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pretty big fight come up.

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Speaker 1: The biggest of your car.

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Speaker 2: I would imagine you're fighting the longtime contender Dyllian White.

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Speaker 1: If you guys are gonna headline the.

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Speaker 2: Card and read Saudi Arabia on his own pay per

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view August sixteenth, Welcome to the show.

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Speaker 1: Thank you very much for doing this today.

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Speaker 3: Thank you very much. A lot that introduction. I was

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literally just saying that, like the American people bring us

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different type of energy. Everybody's like excited or whatnot. So

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I'm gonna have to visit America one day.

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Speaker 2: Well, we'll be happy to have you come here to visit,

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maybe even to fight someday. But you mentioned, you know,

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you're a young guy making your way up the ranks.

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I don't think you have that big of a name

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here in America yet. Of course maybe you do so

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in the UK compared to here for sure. So for

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the folks that aren't that familiar with Moses, Atama. I

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certainly am. Tell us just a little bit about how

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you sort of got your starting boxing.

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Speaker 3: How I started in boxing. So my school, Greeneck Academy,

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it was like a sports college, and it happened to

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be where like I think that we calculated it, it was

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like nine European gold medals, like ten eleven national titles,

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a youth Olympic medal, like a world a world medal.

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Couple professional boxers have gone have gone to the gone

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to my school and my my older brother he had

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to be He happened to be in a classroom with

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I believe it's two or three other boxes and my

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brother Carol. He wanted to get into the into the

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talk of the boxing talk. And then he went down

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to the boxing gym. He won his first national title

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and then he said, bro, you're not doing anything, come

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to the boxing gym with me.

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Speaker 1: So how old were you at that time?

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Speaker 3: Nine years old? I would have turned in ten.

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Speaker 2: So ever since you've been on the trail and here

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we are now as you get ready for this fight.

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Speaker 1: Listen.

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Speaker 2: At the end of twenty twenty four, I picked you

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as the prospect of the year. I've been taking prospects

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of the Year for my publications for twenty five years.

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A lot of people in the business picked you as

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the prospect of their fans, identified most of the timas

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maybe the best prospect in boxing, and I wonder how

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did that make you feel? Was it a sense of excitement?

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Did you feel pressure to give you confidence.

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Speaker 3: I didn't think I was gonna win that because I've

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really although he's firing one of my mates, I'll do

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really right, abdu La Mason, and I'll do really right

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Amelion August. So I didn't think I was going to

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win it, but I appreciate it, and I think I'm

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thankful to those people that they devote for me. I'm

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I'm trying my best with this box in and it's

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nice to see that I'm getting recognition.

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Speaker 2: Well, certainly the other young guys you mentioned in Abdula

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Mason a million of Vargus are you know, in that

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same level. So there was certainly a petition. One of

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the things about you that's struck me. You know, you're

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you're that rare southpaw fighter with punching power. But yeah,

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a lot of people were comparing you to Mike Tyson,

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not a South pop but obviously made his name at

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a very young age. I wonder that that sort of

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seemed unfair to me, not just for most of the time,

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but to compare any young fighter to Mike Tyson, Well,

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what was your when you heard those or read those comparisons?

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What did that make you think?

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Speaker 3: I may not kind of put on myself. I think

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the only comparisons that me and Matt Tousson have is

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that he he was killing it when he was twenty,

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twenty one, twenty two, and it looks like I'm on

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the path to do the same. So I guess that's

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the kind of where the comparison has come in. Do

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I like hit and no? Wold a lot to change it? Yes,

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cannot change it? No, So I'm not going to crab right.

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Speaker 2: It seems like you're pretty realistic about it that people

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are gonna say you and listen a lot of the

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I would think, I mean, not just because you've got

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obviously a big punching power, but the comparisons are based

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on the age situation. As you mentioned, he was twenty

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years old when he became the heavyweight champion. You are

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twenty years old presently, obviously very young for the position

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that you're in. But does it get tiresome of having

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so many people when they talk about you talk about

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it and make your age such a big thing.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, okay, that was Buck. I'll calm control people's minds.

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The only thing that I've got and control is my fias,

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and I'm doing that to the best of my ability.

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Speaker 2: Well, there are a lot of people that also besides

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just again, like I said, unfair comparisons to Iron Mike Tyson.

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They say, you know, this is a young man that's

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going to follow in the footsteps of the great British

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heavyweights Lennox, Lewis, Anthony, Joshua Tyson, Fury. When you hear

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that in those comparisons, I mean, those are your countrymen, guys.

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I'm sure you watched through the years. How does that

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make you feel?

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Speaker 3: I don't I don't really know. I don't really know.

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I don't feel a certain type of way about it.

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When I came into this sport, Yeah, it was kind

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of more like I've got introduced. I got introduced to

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it with my brother and like it was just something

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that I did and it just became a routine and

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then I messed around, happened to get kind of good

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at it, and then here we are Like It's like,

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I think the one thing that I do love about

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boxing is that it's well respected. Like when when when

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you're walking down the street, every a guy's like, okay, cool,

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that's that boxer. Yeah, like let me not do you

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what I mean? Whereas like whereas like with other sports,

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you might not necessarily have that. So that is kind

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of something that kind of flashed into my eyes. But

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it was never a thing where it's like I want that,

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I want to be that. It was just something that

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I've always done and if I don't do it, I

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feel like I'm out of pattern. I feel like I'm

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out of rhythm. I just I don't feel like I'm

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doing my purpose.

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Speaker 2: Were there other fighters professionals that you watched as a

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as a young man, watching as you were coming up

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the ranks, Guys that you emulated that you wanted to

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model yourself after.

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Speaker 3: No, No, like with the Ben Davison team, we kind

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of like Taylor to the opponent. So for example, like

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when I boxed Marius Whakia, I was watching a lot

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of many Pakio and then even Devas devas Shani. He

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was like Moses Talma like was moving like a heavyweight

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Mani Pakio, but like I never mentioned many Pakio in

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no interviews or nothing, but he knew that I was

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trying to emulate what he was doing. And then it

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happened to against Dempson McKean. It was sort of the

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same thing with Anthony Joshua and Ihanu. They done the

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same thing and then the same outcome happened for this fight.

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I'm not going to say nothing, but it's not It's

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not something where it's like, Okay, cool, I'm gonna box

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like this one fire. It's like I'm gonna taylor to

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the opponent.

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Speaker 2: So, as we mentioned, you're twenty years old and Dylan White,

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who's at a long and outstanding career, he is thirty

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seven years old, seventeen year age gap. How much of

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a difference do you think that plays in the terms

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of the matchup between you guys.

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Speaker 3: I mean, I'll go abroved that's thirty seven years old,

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Jan he wouldn't. I mean, it wouldn't be able to

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keep up with me. So I feel that it will

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play a facts up. But often he's got that experience

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where I don't, So I guess this youth against experience,

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and that's why it makes it makes his flight such

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a good flat.

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Speaker 1: Well.

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Speaker 2: Like I said, regardless of his age, he's clearly a

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step up for you in terms of the level of

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the opponent and what he's accomplished, his experience, the types

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of opponents he has faced. He's only got the three losses,

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Anthony Joshua. You know ten years ago Alexander Povetkin in

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a fight he was winning where he got caught with

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a great shot, and Tyson Fury in a world championship fight.

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Are there anything when you looked at him or you

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think about the way the fighters go, Is there anything

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about Dylan White that concerned you?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? Man, any heavyweight has the ability to knock out

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any other heavyweight, So Dalliant White, it's always gonna pose

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a threat more than more so than others. But at

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the same time, like I also pose a threat to

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Dillian So it's only one way to find out. And

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that's true.

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Speaker 2: Like he's won since the Fury loss he suffered, he

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has won three fights in a row, but he's also

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been stopped in the three losses. And you, of course

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are known for the big punching power. Is a knockout

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on your mind at all, and you think that if

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you don't get a knockout that people are gonna put

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that even if you win negatively because you didn't get

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the knockout and the other bigger name heavyweights.

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Speaker 1: Did you know the.

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Speaker 3: Reason why people feel pressure and the reason why people

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don't perform the way that they're supposed to perform is

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because they're too concentrated on the result. Me however, I'm

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concentrated on the game plan. I'm concentrated on the fight.

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The result is going to be what there what's going

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to be? You have no control over that. So am

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I do I want to knock out? Yes? Am I

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going to look for it?

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Speaker 1: No?

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Speaker 3: Do I want it to happen one hundred percent? But

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is there is there a possibility that it couldn't It

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could not happen and it could go tits up.

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Speaker 2: I like that because a lot of fighters won't even

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acknowledge that they that they'd like to get a knockout.

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Speaker 1: They're just like, whatever happens happens.

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Speaker 3: You've got to be realistic. I think in the boxing.

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What I love about boxing is you're in constant touch

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of reality. Like if I go after this fight. Yeah,

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if I go on a mad bender for four weeks

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and they say, okay, cool, you're going to be fighting

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Alexander Uzik now in ten weeks and I start sparring,

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then four weeks that I was on the bend.

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Speaker 1: That's the show, right. So like.

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Speaker 3: I'm in, I'm in constant touch of reality, which is

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which I like, Well.

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Speaker 2: I'm gonna get to that. I'm gonna get that usk

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and just one quick seck. I won one other question

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that because you mentioned just a minute ago about working

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with your trainer, Ben Davison, and he's got a ton

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of experience with heavyweights. He trained Tyson Fury when he

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was champion, He's trained Anthony Joshua. Tell me a little

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bit about what it's like working with him, what he

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brings to the table, because obviously heavyweights seemed to be

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something that he excels at dealing with.

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Speaker 3: No, he's he's obviously like a big part of my career.

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I did pick very very carefully with when I was

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going in the such for a new trainer.

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Speaker 1: I think me.

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Speaker 3: And Ben was definitely a link up that had to happen.

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I don't think my career would have gone the way

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it would have gone well.

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Speaker 2: Like I said, in terms of Usik, he's the undisputed champion,

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and there's been a lot of pundits people have said

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written that if Moses Tama wins this fight in decent

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style against Dilan White, and he should get the shot

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at the undisputed title next that you know, in the

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next matchup. Maybe some people might say it's a little

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bit too soon, especially because there's other top contenders who

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are in position Joseph Parker, a Gikabio, for example, who

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have been in mandatory spots and have similarly earned that spot.

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What do you think about the folks that say that,

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and you feel like you would be ready for that

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level of opponent next.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't lose anything out of it.

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Speaker 1: I don't.

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Speaker 3: I will not lose. I think it's a win win

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situation for me. I don't a lot to use the

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word deserved, because obviously don't get we deserved to get

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we negotiate.

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Speaker 1: Good point, and.

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Speaker 3: Well, I would have to say that as your park

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and as your Tabayel like have charged enough to the

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game whereas I haven't. But then yet again, I'm coming

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here to negotiating.

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Speaker 1: Not to.

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Speaker 2: Understood That's a great place to leave it off. I'm

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always thank you so much for your time today. I

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really appreciate and I wish you were tremendous success in

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your fight coming up.

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Speaker 1: You know my tele good either, and thank you