Dressed in a new, personalized "Team Itauma" tracksuit manufactured by his primary apparel sponsor Nike, the 21-year-old looks every inch the superstar in waiting that most inside the sport have predicted for the last three years.

But while the clamor to anoint him as the future of heavyweight boxing has intensified, the man himself admits the whole situation has felt like little more than a simulation; it might all be happening to him, but none of it actually feels real.

You would be hard pressed to spend more than 15 minutes in any corner of London, or Manchester for that matter, without seeing the 21-year-old’s face on the side of a bus. “Witness History,” the tagline barks, in reference to his chance to become Britain’s youngest world heavyweight champion ever at O2 on Saturday night.

“Apparently I’ve become the man on the bus,” Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) says with an air of resignation. “And I don’t really have a choice do I?”

It is an interesting question from the southpaw, who has always moved with a suspicious caution around the British press pack. It is not that he is unintelligent, far from it, but rather that he is aware that sitting down and answering questions is far removed from the bit about boxing he actually likes, namely the boxing.

“When a lot of people become champions, and they do make it, they're not doing it at 21 years old,” he says. “So they've already had time for trial and error.

“If you just compare an average 20-year-old to an average 30-year-old, you're going to see the difference in how they'll be able to present themselves, or be able to talk. Me, I had to do it since I was 18, so I'm just trying to get rid of the narrative that I created when I was 18, because I didn't know what the hell was going on.”

Now three years into his professional career, the stakes have risen dramatically and some of the predictions regarding his future achievements have even crashed beyond the ceiling set by Britain’s greatest ever heavyweight, Lennox Lewis. The next step on that road will take place Saturday evening in the capital with the vacant IBF title on the line against Filip Hrgovic.

Itauma has done his best to fireproof himself from the hyperbole during his preparation, as he works away under Ben Davison in Harlow, Essex, but there is no denying that the hopes of British boxing in the post Joshua/Fury era are resting largely on his shoulders.

But now, as he prepares to claim what could be the first of many world titles, The Ring’s No. 6-rated heavyweight says his grasp of reality is slipping away.

“I feel like my life is fake,” he says. “From when I was 18, I feel like I'm doing something I'm not supposed to, almost like I wasn't destined to do this, but I just feel like I’ve made it happen.

“It's just fake because if you were to say to anybody, ‘oh, a guy was born in Slovakia, and then just grew up in Chatham to become a heavyweight champion of the world at such a young age, do you think that would happen?’

“I think just the majority of people would say no, because I feel like the opportunity that I have, so many other people have as well. Obviously I've made it happen but I wasn't supposed to so that's why I feel like it's fake.

“But I need to do something and if I’m good at boxing then why not?”

This perspective might help explain why Hrgovic has this week claimed that Itauma has his “head in the clouds” ahead of the storm he has predicted at O2 Arena. The Croatian also said that a victory for the youngster would damage his soul and usher in a period of turmoil. In a surprising twist, Itauma actually agreed with Hrgovic.

Victory on Saturday night would make Itauma the second youngest world heavyweight champion behind Mike Tyson, who won the title aged 20 in 1986. Now, 40 years on, "Iron Mike" is Itauma’s reference point outside the ring, too.

“Is there such a thing as too much, too young? Of course there is,” Itauma explained. “I've always wanted to start off like Mike Tyson started off, but then not end up how Mike Tyson ended up.

“But now I'm in the shoes that Mike Tyson was, as in all the fame and accolades at such a young age, I'm starting to see and realise why he fell off the way he did. I just don't want to make the same mistake he's made. So that means you can take this path, which would be something else that you might not want.

“I've been boxing for over 10, 11 years but I have never ever been in a position where my face is all over the UK. People are recognising me in places where I don't want to be recognised, or where I might just want to be left alone. Coping with that takes a certain degree of mental toughness. So, yeah, there is such a thing as too early but I'm taking necessary precautions to handle it the way I believe I should.”

During this camp at least, that has manifested in reading as many books as he can manage, with a clear emphasis on self-help titles.

“This camp has been A Changed Mind by David Bayer, The Mental Toughness Handbook Damon Zahariades and Relentless by Tim Grover,” Itauma says.

The full title of that final book, "Relentless: From Good To Great To Unstoppable," feels appropriate given Itauma’s goals. “I’m currently halfway through that,” he adds. “It’s very good, the guys at Nike told me to read it and now I can’t put it down.”

Alongside his reading, Itauma has also decided to learn French. “It unlocks so much more of the world to me,” he says. “There's a lot of French-speaking countries that I'd want to visit and learn in French. It gets to unlock another side of the world that would be difficult to navigate otherwise.

“I don’t know if it makes me a more rounded person. I know English and Slovak because they’ve been my primary languages but I’m trying to learn French now.”

With that, he’s up and out and into the final few interviews of the day. “A couple more I think,” he says with a sigh. Thankfully for him, the talking is almost over and the real bit is about to begin.