UK Boxing
Moses Itauma vs. Jermaine Franklin – results and post-fight report
Moses Itauma returned to action in Manchester and was the first to stop Jermaine Franklin Jr.
In the main event, Itauma wasted no time against Franklin, hurting his opponent several times in the opening round.
The 21-year-old was impressed by the variety of attacks, which at the beginning were much too swift for “989 Assassin”.
Franklin was eliminated in the third round against Itauma landing heavily on top of it head 20 seconds before the end of the round.
He had his best round in the fourth period, even though he went down just over a minute earlier. Itauma continued to swim, but the American began to launch some counterattacks of his own.
Itauma punished Franklin for every mistake and continued the fight in round five, which was the final round.
Midway through the fifth punch, Itauma landed a stunning uppercut that knocked Franklin to the ground and the referee counted out the American.
Nathan Heaney vs. Gerome Warburton
‘The Bread Maker’ caused a stir in the co-main event after Nathan Heaney walked out in front of his Stoke faithful.
“The Hitman” attracted over 3,000 fans but was uploaded within 10 rounds. Warburton did brilliantly, boxing on the back foot, while Heaney, 36, struggled to make up ground.
The three judges’ scorecards were good for Warburton: 98-92 and 97-93 on two judges’ cards.
Despite not receiving the decision, Heaney has confirmed that he still intends to return and star in his beloved Stoke-on-Trent.
Ezra Taylor vs. Willy Hutchinson
Hutchinson entered the ring as the favorite, even though Ezra Taylor was undefeated before the fight.
“The Hutch Train” looked confident from the first bell and boxed with his hands down from the very beginning. This was the first round in which the unconventional Hutchinson tried to unravel the more conventional Taylor.
The Scot boxed well throughout the match and collected rounds from the first, forcing Taylor to come forward.
All three judges gave the nod to Hutchinson after quite a sturdy performance in Manchester.
Undercard remaining
Brad Pauls scored an incredible victory after possibly losing every round of the competition against Shakiel Thompson in a devastating stoppage seemingly out of nowhere.
“Dr. Steel” was in full control before Pauls landed a brutal right hand and then dealt Thompson the first defeat of his career in style.
BRAD PAULS, JUST WOW 
Shakiel Thompson was in cruise control for nine rounds before Pauls landed a devastating right hook and kept “Dr. Steel” from letting go of the hook
pic.twitter.com/Vt3aQo6dBF
— Professional boxing fans (@ProBoxingFans) March 28, 2026
Liam Davies secured his second win in a row after losing to Shabaz Masoud in 2024.
He made no mistake against Francesco Grandelli, losing to his rival in the fourth round before the Italian was forced to retire in his corner after the sixth round.
Alex Murphy and Josh Holmes went to war, with the undefeated fighter claiming a huge victory after the break.
Murphy was expected to be the toughest test of Holmes’ career, and although the 30-year-old was injured early on, he was ultimately outclassed.
Holmes knocked down his fighter with 20 seconds left, and then finished the fight in style before the final bell.
#itaumafranklin
— Professional boxing fans (@ProBoxingFans) March 28, 2026
Michael Gomez Jr is back to winning ways after saying he would retire if he lost to Jordan Flynn.
Gomez Jr took the fight to Flynn, who was trapped and was stopped in the third round after suffering a broken jaw.
Nelson Birchall scored the eighth stoppage win of his career against Ryan Griffiths, while John Joe Carrigan secured the second stoppage win of his career in the third round.
The son of the legendary Naseem Hamed, Aadam won on points over Michael Mooney.
The post Moses Itauma vs. Jermaine Franklin – results and post-fight report appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
Tony Yoka has broken his silence on Lawrence Okolie’s failed test that canceled their scheduled heavyweight fight.
On Saturday in Paris, Yoka was scheduled to face Okolie in a fierce heavyweight fight.
But on Tuesday, the Briton failed a VADA test, reportedly for GHRP 2 and its metabolite M8, a synthetic substance that stimulates the body to release human growth hormone.
Promoter Frank Warren tried to find a slow replacement, but later canceled the entire show.
Yoka (33) admits that he was bitterly disappointed with the situation.
“I was disappointed because I wanted to fight,” said the 33-year-old talkSPORT.
“Of course I was ready.
“It’s not like it happened a few months before, it was three, four days before the fight.
“It was a great opportunity.
“It would have put me in a really good position, so it really worried me.
“What was more disappointing to me was that they just canceled the entire show, but I understand it’s a business.”
The Frenchman says he won’t wait too long and has been told he will either fight on the card Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois May 9 in Manchester or on the bill Dave Allen vs Filip Hrgovic on May 16 in Doncaster.
See this post on Instagram
Okolie, the WBC’s number one contender for Oleksandr Usyk’s title, promised in a statement to clear his name.
“Before anyone starts imagining the worst, after last year’s bicep injury, I suffered an elbow injury on the same shoulder during this camp.
“I underwent treatment and now we are here.
“I hope common sense will prevail.
See this post on Instagram
“I will of course cooperate fully with all relevant authorities and I am confident that any investigation will clear my name.
“I will not be making any further comments at this time.
“Thank you for all your support and see you soon.”
The post “I Was Nervous” – Tony Yoka’s Reaction to Lawrence Okolie’s Failed Test appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
David Benavidez is already looking to the future ahead of next week’s showdown with Zurdo Ramirez.
Benavidez challenges Zurdo for his unified WBO and WBA cruiserweight world titles next Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, live on DAZN pay-per-view.
“The Mexican Monster” is moving up from lightweight heavyweight, where he holds the WBC crown, in a bid to become a three-division world champion.
An undisputed 175-pound title fight with Dmitry Bivol has so far eluded the undefeated 29-year-old, but he insists he will return to the weight class after the Ramirez fight in an attempt to lure Bivol to fight him.
“My plan wasn’t just to abandon the lightweight heavyweight division,” Benavidez said Ariel Helwani show.
“My plan was this [to] come up, win two titles, come back and make this fight with me and Bivol even bigger.
“My dream is to become unified champion.
“It would be wise for me to go back downstairs.”
Bivol, the holder of the remaining IBF, WBA and WBO belts, will defend his IBF title against mandatory challenger Michael Eifert on May 30 in Russia.
The 35-year-old won the undisputed crown, among others revenge victory over Artur Beterbiev in his last appearance last February.
The Russian gave up the WBC belt, which Benavidez currently holds, in pursuit of a third meeting with Beterbiev, which ultimately did not take place.
Benavidez, who stopped Anthony Yarde in Riyad in November, is also hoping to fight former undisputed lightweight heavyweight champion Beterbiev, who hasn’t fought since his only professional loss to Bivol.
“After this fight [against Bivol] when I win the titles,” he added.
“I’m going to fight Beterbiev.
“I’m probably most excited about Beterbiev.
“These are two monsters heading on a collision course.
“Beterbiev was a bogeyman for a long, long, long time.
“Being the monster I am, I have to go in there and get rid of the bogeyman.”
The post David Benavidez Eyeing Two Names After Zurdo Ramirez appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
Ryan Garcia insists he was not given a contract to fight Conor Benn, despite the Briton insisting he signed a contract for the fight.
Garcia and Benn are reportedly in talks for a welterweight world title clash in Las Vegas in August.
Benn is the number one contender for the American’s WBC crown, which he won by unanimous decision over Mario Barrios in February.
On Wednesday, Benn publicly called on his rival to sign the end of the deal.
“Sign the contract @RyanGarcia,” the 29-year-old wrote X.
“King Ry” sharply criticized “The Destroyer”, claiming that he was not given a contract to sign.
The 27-year-old wrote further X: “If I actually had a contract, Conor, I would sign it as soon as one of these hands touches your jaw on fight night.”
Benn has not broken the 147-pound limit since 2022, although he has signaled his intention to return to welterweight, and his last fight was at 150 pounds.
The player from Ilford said goodbye to former two-time world champion, Regis Prograis unanimous decision at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this month.
Benn fought at middleweight in his two fights, then fought Prograis in two hard-fought matches against Chris Eubank Jr.
Prior to his victory over Porgrais, the 29-year-old controversially left former promotional team Matchroom to join Zuffa Boxing on a one-fight deal reportedly worth $15 million.
Benn resigned last week from the company formed by UFC president Dana White as part of a five-fight contract.
“I just signed a fresh multi-fight contract, which I am very joyful with,” he said.
“Our visions are consistent.
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If I actually had a contract, Conor, I would sign it as soon as one of those hands touched your jaw on fight night.
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) April 22, 2026
“Our goal remains the same, which is to win the world title, but more importantly, to give people the fight they want.
“Give people mega fights.”
The post Ryan Garcia denies receiving contract to fight Conor Benn appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
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