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How good can Moses Itauma become? When will he become world champion? Who should he fight next?
DAZN’s poll has Daniel Dubois as the fighter fans most want to see Itauma battle next. That would certainly make for an intriguing contest...
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section beneath this blog.
Frank Warren reaction
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“We’ll be announcing something once we’ve sat down and looked at a few things. He’s the No1 in the WBO and he’s No1 in the WBA. There’s a lot of fights happening in the next few months and we’ll sort something out. Don’t worry it’ll be a big, big fight because he [Itauma] is a big, big fighter.”
“I’m pretty confident he [Itauma] will fight for a world title this year.”
Itauma reaction
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“I’m happy to get the win. The Lord is good. I’ve enjoyed my stay in Manchester, it’s where I won my first national title. Seven years later I’m picking up a win against Jermaine Franklin, something that British heavyweights that have gone on to do great things didn’t do. I’ve got to give thanks to the most high and I’ve got to thank Jermaine ~Franklin for giving me this opportunity because it takes two to tango.
“I tried to knock him out in the first and second rounds, tried to win some people some dough. But I just thought maybe not today so I went back to the basics, went down to the body, and the knockout just came.”
It’s all over: Itauma knocks out Franklin!
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Itauma does not see too kindly to that slight resurgence from Franklin at the end of the fourth round. A combination of blows upstairs has Franklin staggering and a brutal uppercut leaves the American wobbling all over the place. Itauma drops in one final right hand to the face to punctuate the win and finish things off. Franklin lies prone on the ground while his opponent bows to the crowd. Huge, huge hitting.
Frankie writes: Magic. A quick upper cut KOs the American and the heavyweight division may just have another new superstar.
Round 4: Itauma still on top
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Was that a hint of smile from Itauma? The Briton knows he is on top here and regains his focus immediately. Franklin looking to clinch but it is straight back to the barrage of jabs and body shots. The seconds must be starting to feel like minutes for Franklin who sets up camp in the corner. A flurry from the American to finish, but Itauma still in the driving seat.
Frankie writes: Franklin finally landed a handful of shots early but a big body shot from Itauma stopped him throwing anymore and the 21-year-old danced round him for the final two minutes.
10-9 Itauma.
Round 3: Franklin goes down!
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Franklin had been hanging in there but Itauma lands a massive blow and the American goes down! Makes it up before the count but that is a huge right hook from Itauma, set up by a sharp left-hand jab.
Frankie writes: As slow start to the round but a hard hitting right-hook on the temple dropped Franklin.
10-8 Itauma
Round 1: Franklin survives Itauma blitz
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Itauma’s fast hands are on show from the off and he manages to land a handful of shots to the head, set up by sharp blows to the body. Franklin at risk of walking into a dangerous trap at any moment. Itauma lands a bullish left hook with less than 50 seconds on the clock before landing further blows as the timer nears zero. Franklin survives the first round. Just.
Telegraph Sport’s Frankie Christou writes:
Itauma has come out strong and landed some big shots. The variety of punches have left Franklin in a whirlwind.
10-9 Itauma.
We are underway!
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The “989 Assassin” Franklin fights in black and gold shorts while Chatham fighter Itauma is in black and grey shorts.
Tonight’s referee is Steve Gray who gets the fighters to touch gloves and we are off!
Here comes Itauma
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Itauma is introduced to the arena by Manchester-born rapper Meekz. The 21-year-old takes a moment to absorb the rapture of this expectant crowd before heading to his corner.
Franklin a picture of calm
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It is a low-key ring walk for the American who looks calm and collected. Goes for a steady lap of the ring.
Itauma’s career in numbers
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(Franklin fans, you may want to look away now…)
Of Itauma’s 13 fights:
- 11 have ended in KOs
- All 11 of those KOs came within the first two rounds
- Eight of them landed in the first round
- Three came within the first minute
Here are Itauma’s results so far:
Result: Warburton defeats Heaney by unanimous decision
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The “Bread Maker” takes the co-main event and lets out a roar of celebration as the result is announced. Nathan Heaney did his utmost to keep Gerome Warburton at bay but did not have enough.
An apology to the Stoke fans he might have upset in the pre-fight press conference is forthcoming. Warburton dedicates the win to his son who is in the ring with him now. A nice touch.
A special ring walk
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Beautiful stuff. Not sure about Gymskin’s vocals though? (Can someone let me know who he is in the comments please).
Heaney vs Warburton into round eight
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Gerome Warburton looks to be turning this fight around after Nathan Heaney started strongly – but it is still too close to call...
Itauma’s left hand can change boxing forever
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Moses Itauma possesses a left hand from hell that could take over the heavyweight division.
Simple as that. The 21-year-old will head to Manchester on Saturday for the latest chapter of his already vaunted career: a contest with American Jermaine Franklin, whose only defeats were by Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. Neither were able to stop the “989 Assassin” from Michigan inside 12 rounds.
But Itauma can make a stoppage statement against Franklin. Indeed I believe he will, potentially inside five rounds.
Itauma has transitioned from prospect to heavyweight bogeyman, largely because of a southpaw left hand that is currently the most terrifying weapon in the division. And yet – bizarrely – Moses is right-handed. We call it a converted southpaw, with his right “lead” hand his jabbing arm. It means his jab, and right hook, are also very dangerous weapons.
On that left hand. If we take the anatomy of the shot itself, Itauma is not just a thudding puncher; he is a snapping one. His left hand benefits from a rare combination of elite hand speed and Olympic-level strength
In truth, Itauma has the hand speed of a middleweight which allows him to land the left hand before an opponent can even finish their jab.
Unlike many traditionalists, Itauma embraces heavy Olympic lifting. He has been recorded power cleaning 140kg and bench pressing 175kg, power that translates directly into the explosive torque of his straight left and left hook.
Read Gareth A Davies’ full article here.
Wardley and Dubois face off
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The pair will fight at the Co-op Live Arena in six weeks’ time.
Franklin: ‘Itauma has potential, but I’ve found something’
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Franklin, who turned professional in 2015, has been full of praise for Itauma in the build-up to this fight but believes he may have identified a weakness in the Briton’s technique. Speaking to DAZN this week, Franklin said: “I think he’s a good fighter. He’s got a lot of potential to be someone great so why not catch him before he reaches the top?
“He’s got a great jab. He likes to come to the body after the jab a little bit before he comes in, but I’ve found something on how he comes in, so it’s small stuff. The small stuff is hard to capitalise off of but it’s also harder to change as a boxer. With me being very observant, I’m going to look for it. And if I can capitalise that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Who is on the card?
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Moses Itauma vs Jermaine Franklin
Nathan Heaney vs Gerome Warburton (LIVE)
Willy Hutchinson defeated Ezra Taylor by decision
Brad Pauls defeated Shakiel Thompson by ninth-round stoppage
Liam Davies defeated Francesco Grandelli by sixth-round retirement
Josh Holmes defeated Alex Murphy by first-round stoppage
Michael Gomez Jr. defeated Jordan Flynn by third-round stoppage
Odds in Itauma’s favour
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Betting on Itauma vs Franklin? Take a look at these best boxing betting sites chosen by Telegraph Media Group
Itauma is the bookmakers’ favourite, sitting at the 1/25 mark. Franklin is 10/1, with the draw at 25/1.
Fight preview: Itauma faces biggest test yet
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Boxing fans gather around, for fight night is here. Welcome to live coverage of British heavyweight phenom Moses Itauma’s headline bout against Jermaine Franklin at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena. The 21-year-old is the overwhelming favourite tonight and victory would represent a welcome pick-me-up for British sports fans who may feel jaded after consecutive weeks of Six Nations, Champions League and World Cup play-off blues. Itauma is the real deal and has already been earmarked by many to ascend to the top of the blue riband division in the not-too-distant future.
Itauma commands a 13-0 record with 11 knockouts, dismantling Dillian Whyte last August in less than two minutes. Here he faces – in his words – “the final piece to the puzzle” in the form of robust and wily Franklin (24-2, 15 KOs). The American’s two defeats came against Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, neither of whom were able to force a stoppage. In fact, no one has – this will form much of the intrigue in tonight’s fight as the destructive Itauma looks to end that particular record. This match-up was initially scheduled for January but was postponed by two months after Itauma tore a bicep in training.
Even considering Itauma’s generational talent and rapid rise, his target of becoming heavyweight boxing’s youngest world champion has proved wildly optimistic. Indeed, that particular ship has sailed now that Itauma is older than the mark set by Mike Tyson – 20 years, four months and 23 days – in 1986. Comparisons have been drawn between Itauma and Tyson, given their power and success at a young age, though the former moved to distance himself from such discourse this week, saying: “I guess we’re kind of a polar opposite... We both just love knockouts.”
And while murmurings of potential fights against Filip Hrgovic, Murat Gassiev, Lawrence Okolie and Oleksandr Usyk continue to swirl, Itauma has insisted that his focus is firmly fixed on Franklin. Speaking in his pre-fight press conference, the Chatham fighter said: “I have a serious opponent in Jermaine Franklin. We’ve asked for this fight [for] a year and a half, or something like that, so now we’ve got it. I feel this is the kind of the final piece to the puzzle.”
In his three-year professional career Itauma has contested just 26 rounds, many of which ended prematurely. Testing himself against a fighter of Franklin’s calibre will provide further insight into exactly what the boxing phenom is capable of and how he can develop moving forward. “There’s questions that my team want to know about me, there’s questions that I want to know about myself and I’m sure that there are a lot of questions that the fans want to know about me as well,” Itauma said. “So I feel like Jermanine Franklin is the final piece of the puzzle. So when I get asked about other fighters [I think to myself], that’s not going to happen if I don’t get through Jermaine Franklin. This is a serious fight and I’m looking forward to it.”
Main-event ring walk expected at 11pm GMT