British heavyweight fighter Moses Itauma said his fight with American Jermaine Franklin Jr. it’s a chance to “lock up a few people.”
Itauma (13-0, 11 KO) returns to the ring on January 24 in Manchester against Franklin (23-2, 15 KO), who defeated both Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua.
The hope is that the more experienced Franklin, who has proven his durability in the past, will be able to defeat Itauma at least through Round 2, something only two of his 13 opponents have managed to do.
While he is considered the next face of British heavyweight boxing, many believe Itauma has some unanswered questions, in part due to his impressive achievements, and has yet to be tested.
Scheduled to fight on December 13, Itauma was forced to wait to fight just three rounds in 2025. The 20-year-old said he hopes a few rounds with Franklin will prove to people that he’s up for anything.
“Franklin, great fight, great fighter. The reason why everyone thinks it’s the perfect fight [for me] This is because what he does well puts my career into question,” Itauma said at a press conference on Monday.
“I believe this fight will be the best for my development. Moreover, I can finally silence some people.”
“He may not get there [the later rounds]and if he gets there, his questions will finally be answered. You’ll just have to wait, tune in and see.
“I believe Dempsey McKean has the same fire; Dillian Whyte had the same fire, so it’s nothing up-to-date. I feel like even though I’ve been in the professional game for two and a half years, it feels like it’s been 10 years. This boxing stuff is something I have to do. I don’t like not being in the gym.”
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“When Jermaine Franklin caught my attention, I thought, let’s do it. He’s here to give me some rounds, but he’s here to win. While it’s effortless to say he’s here to give me some rounds, I have to live up to those high expectations.”
Franklin got back on track with a victory over Ivan Dychko in September on the Terence Crawford-Canelo Alvarez undercard. He said he was coming to Manchester to disrupt Itauma’s trajectory.
“The world will tell me what a great fighter I am, what talent I have, what potential I have and what else I can do,” Franklin said.