It’s time for Musa to fulfil his full potential

Musa Moya…a fighter with so much natural ability

MUSA Moya has talent to burn, he is gifted, he peels off combinations with effortless fluidity.

The Hinckley fighter has the ability to make it to the top. He showed that last September by facing unbeaten, big punching Diego Costa at short notice and outpointing him in a televised contest.

Manager Jon Pegg likened his slick, smooth moves to James Toney.

The 27-year-old, guided by Birmingham’s Eastside gym, is, in my opinion, missing one ingredient – solid, unwavering commitment to the disciplines required by champions.

Unless Musa sees the light that will prevent him from fulfilling his potential. I will be writing about what could’ve been.

On October 14 at Coventry’s Sports Connexion, Moya features in a cracking contest. He faces big punching, wild swinging Jackson Osagie, a man who enters the ring with one ambition – to knock his opponent’s head off.

Moya’s defence abilities will be put to the test.

But Osagie is a light-heavyweight.

Moya, unbeaten in six, should not be a light-heavyweight, yet he is – and he’s been as heavy as cruiser. Moya should, at the very least, be a middle and, when he started his pro journey, there was talk of the fighter making light-middle.

I’m convinced he has power, but that won’t surface against much naturally bigger men.

Moya appears to be waging a losing war with his own appetite. In the ring, his shape suggests there’s plenty of excess baggage to shift.

Bluntly put, Musa slips and rolls punches effortlessly in the ring. His size suggests avoiding the fridge is more difficult.

The man is in danger of being remembered as a wasted talent rather than the champion he can be.

It’s down to him. He needs to knuckle down. He needs to suffer for success, as the others do.

The future is bright, but not at light-heavy where, in today’s game, very big men reside.

If Moya beats Osagie, then a Midlands title fight with Derby’s Jack Hutsby awaits on November 11 at super-middle (12st).

If he can get down to super-middle, then the middleweight division – where he belongs – is only a few pounds away.

Pegg was today diplomatic, but said: “The lighter Moya can get, the better he will be and that’s entirely up to him. That is out of our control.

“I believe he has everything but discipline. His attitude to fighting is good, it’s just his discipline. His chin is good, he has power, but hasn’t shown it because he’s not at the right weight.”

Pegg is confident Moya will make 12 stone for the title fight.

Hopefully, that will be the spark that ignites a career that can burn brightly.