UK Boxing
Who’s next for Moses Itaum? Three fights after Franklin was stopped
Last night, Moses Itauma became the first man to stop Jermaine Franklin in victory.
Attention now turns to Itauma’s next fight following his victory over Franklin.
Before the fight, it was predicted that “989 Assassin” would be the toughest test in the 21-year-old’s career.
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Despite the relative ease of stopping Franklin, Itauma got a few rounds in the bank. The stoppage came in the fifth round and it was Itauma’s longest fight since 2023, when he fought six rounds against Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko.
Itauma was asked after the victory if any fight interests himand the opponent he indicated has another fight with Dave Allen from Doncaster.
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“I wanted to fight Hrgovic, but he’s fighting Dave Allen, so we’ll see.”
Promoter Frank Warren has spoken about the coming months for the 21-year-old and is confident his fighter will win world honors before the end of 2026.
He fought a tough guy, broke him, and did what no one else had done.
“Usyk’s fight will take place in June, after which he will defend the WBC title against Agit Kabayel. If he does not do so, he will be stripped of the belt.
“I’m sure he will fight for the world title this year.”
While neither Warren nor Itauma has made it clear who might be next, here are three potential names for the heavyweight talent’s next fight.
Agit Kabayel
The German star feels comfortable in the WBC as he is Oleksandr Usyk’s mandatory number one, and Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed that Kabayel should get his chance after the conclusion of Usyk’s upcoming fight against kickboxer Rico Verhoeven.
This makes a potential fight with Itauma unlikely, as the 33-year-old can be expected to wait for an opportunity for which he has had to be patient.
A fight between the two is not out of the question, however, as something very similar happened last October when Joseph Parker, who was Usyk’s number one contender, put his WBO position on the line against Fabio Wardley.
Parker lost that fight and Wardley became full world champion just a few weeks later, so Kabayela may be discouraged from taking such a risk.
Kabayel spoke to Inside The Ring in January and expressed great admiration for the rising heavyweight star.
“He’s youthful, he’s good, you know he’s fresh, but I think any style is good for fighting.
“When that fight comes, Kabayel vs Itauma, why not? It’s good for the fans.
“I’m ready for anyone, you know I say it, why not [fighting Itauma]? When His Excellency makes it happen, why not? I will fight everyone.”
Murat Gasijew
Probably the most likely opponent for Itauma’s next fight may be Russian heavyweight fighter Murat Gassiew.
The 32-year-old last took part in action in Dubai, where he brutally stopped the experienced Kubrat Pulev.
Gassijev has fought many great fighters, especially in the cruiserweight division, where he defeated Yuniel Dorticos and defeated Oleksandr Usyk.
He talked to professional boxing fans about a possible fight with Moses Itauma.
“I don’t know much about him; he’s a youthful player and very talented.
“He’s swift, he’s sturdy and I don’t know – I don’t see the future and we’ll have to see what happens after the Franklin fight.”
Gassiev won the WBA ‘Regular’ heavyweight title in his last fight, and with Itauma holding the top spot in the governing body, a victory over Gassiev will only strengthen the 21-year-old’s world title hopes.
Fabio Wardley
Probably the most compelling, if unlikely, next fight for Itauma will be against WBO world champion Fabio Wardley.
Wardley and Itauma train at the same gym under Ben Davison, and talk of a fight between them keeps coming up.
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Both fighters say a fight is unlikely in the near future; however, considering Itauma wants to become world champion and his stablemate holds one of those belts, a fight is definitely not impossible.
Usyk holds the remaining three belts and has a mandatory fight against Agit Kabayel, so Itauma may have trouble fighting for the WBA, IBF or WBC titles anytime soon.
Wardley spoke on DAZN immediately after the 21-year-old stopped Franklin and reiterated that the fight was unlikely.
“We are in different places, he looks at where I am and I look at Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.”
There are a few other options for the 21-year-old, including Martin Bakole or Zhilei Zhang, so who Itauma chooses to fight next will be very compelling.
The post Who’s next for Moses Itaum? Three fights after Franklin Stoppage 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.
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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.
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“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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