MANCHESTER — Moses Itauma has promised to answer his critics when he takes on Jermaine Franklin on January 24 in Manchester, England.
The 20 year old contender has taken the heavyweight division by storm and picked up his most high-profile win yet with a first-round stoppage of Dillian Whyte in August — a fighter Franklin was narrowly beaten by via decision in 2022. The 24-2 (15 KOs) Franklin is seen as a heavyweight who will finally give the young Itauma rounds. The American is yet to be stopped in his professional career, with his two defeats coming to Whyte and Anthony Joshua over 12 rounds.
Although few give Franklin a chance to defeat the 13-0 (11 KOs) Itauma, he is certainly not crossing the pond to give the youngster rounds.
“I’m a fighter, I’m a warrior, and I’m gonna show the fans that,” said Franklin. “Be prepared. I’m a little awkward. I’m a huge danger factor.
“As a fighter, we all got the highest confidence in ourselves. It’s not going to be easy. He’s going to have to work for it. I’m not them. I’m Jermaine Franklin and I’m not lying down for no one.”
The question over the young Itauma’s head is how will he fare against the top heavyweights in the later rounds. Itauma believes he will answer that question against Franklin — if it gets there.
“Jermaine Franklin is a great fighter, just come off a great win with Ivan Dychko. The reason why people think this is a good fight is because of what he does well, there’s still question marks over me. So, I can finally shut a few people up [with this fight].
“It might not get there [the later rounds] and if it does get there then those questions are finally answered.”
Promoter Frank Warren believes this is the final step for Itauma before he is let off the leash against the biggest names in the division.
“If he wins this, I believe he will go on to fight for a world title,” said Warren.
Itauma is rated No. 1 by the WBO and WBA, No. 4 with the WBC and he is the IBF’s No. 12 ranked heavyweight. Oleksandr Usyk, of course, is the undisputed heavyweight champion.
