Moses Itauma reinforced his status as one of heavyweight boxing’s brightest stars with a destructive fifth-round stoppage of Jermaine Franklin at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.
The Briton methodically broke down the American, landing crisp combinations and heavy power punches. The 21-year-old now has an 86% knockout rate in his wins.
Itauma’s Crushing Victory
Franklin climbed off the canvas in the third round, but was knocked out cold in the fifth by a clean uppercut.
Itauma said on BBC Radio 5 Live, “The first two rounds I thought it would go the distance. Then in the fifth round when I caught with him the uppercut, I thought ‘did I really do that?'”
Around 16,000 fans packed into the Manchester arena, greeting Itauma with a warm roar as he was walked to the ring by British rapper Meekz.
Future Plans and World Title Ambitions
Talk will now turn to bigger fights and world-titles after the unbeaten prospect recorded his 12th stoppage in 14 professional fights.
Itauma said he would “love to fight” unified world champion Oleksandr Usyk but added he will “sit and wait my turn”. His promoter, Frank Warren, said the Chatham heavyweight will be back out in July.
Itauma is in a good position in several rankings for a world title shot.
Analysing Itauma’s Performance
Itauma was in wonderful form from the first bell, using his speed and variation to send Franklin backtracking.
In truth, the knockout felt inevitable even when 32-year-old Franklin managed to recover from a third-round right hand that sent him crashing to the floor.
Working behind a jab and picking his shots wisely, Itauma avoided anything reckless. “It’s a breakdown job,” trainer Ben Davison aptly told him between rounds.
- Itauma has a high knockout rate.
- Franklin had previously only been beaten by British fighters Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte.
- Itauma wants to fight Oleksandr Usyk.
The Road Ahead
Promoter Warren expects Itauma to fight for a world title this year.
At the same stage of his career, Anthony Joshua beat Gary Cornish to register a 14th stoppage and was selling out the O2 Arena. Itauma is on a similar trajectory, almost filling the Co-op Live Arena – and arguably facing higher-level opponents along the way.