Moses Itauma vs. Jermaine Franklin | DAZN - 28 March 2026

[KiwiRider]

I think the last ten months have been anticlimactic for Itauma.
He should be fighting at least four times a year minimum.
Then we get the news he is now PPV
And he fights two guys in a total of three rounds for 2025

[tony1234]

I think the last ten months have been anticlimactic for Itauma.
He should be fighting at least four times a year minimum.
Then we get the news he is now PPV
And he fights two guys in a total of three rounds for 2025

No momentum at all now, nobody outside boxing fans know him unlike Joshua who had cross over appeal and he's on PPV which dilutes his exposure even more

[MightyWarrior]

And the crazy thing is Frank won’t be too bothered about nobody knowing who Moses is at the moment. Nobody knows who Fabio is either- fighting on an obscure app behind a pay-per-view wall, and he’s still getting $3 million

for a WBO interim belt

[Ruthless-RKO]

Who’s getting $3 million?

[golden_labrador]

do they accept American dollars in Ipswich?

[MightyWarrior]

Someone said Fabs getting 3 million dollars, Gareth easy rider davis

[Ruthless-RKO]

Someone said Fabs getting 3 million dollars, Gareth easy rider davis

Wasn’t it Parker ?

[goose 5]

Itauma versus Big Baby Miller would be acceptable.

[Taansend]

Itauma versus Big Baby Miller would be acceptable.

It would be brilliant. But I wouldn't believe it was going to happen until I saw Miller in the ring.

I'd also take Andy Ruiz. He's always shown a solid chin. And he has a name. But will he be able to get in shape by December 13th

[Ruthless-RKO]

He will now fight next year..

Chizzy will headline his 50th fight.

[tony1234]

He will now fight next year..

Chizzy will headline his 50th fight.

All going tits up for Itauma, beats a shell of Whyte without turning a sweat and needed to be out again not rusting away. Wonder what happened to all the stacked Saudi cards where he could have been fighting on ?

[goose 5]

Ridiculous, 6 months or so between fights for Itauma at this stage.

[gilgamesh]

Ridiculous, 6 months or so between fights for Itauma at this stage.

Not good for promoting him. Not good for his development as a fighter. Not good at all.

[paultom]

Ridiculous, 6 months or so between fights for Itauma at this stage.

he could have and should have been out again within 4 weeks of beating Whyte

[KiwiRider]

Ridiculous, 6 months or so between fights for Itauma at this stage.

he could have and should have been out again within 4 weeks of beating Whyte

Definitely. No cuts, no damages.
Use whatever meager PPV they made to pay for the next knock over

[gilgamesh]

Ridiculous, 6 months or so between fights for Itauma at this stage.

he could have and should have been out again within 4 weeks of beating Whyte

Definitely. No cuts, no damages.
Use whatever meager PPV they made to pay for the next knock over

And that's the thing. He's at a stage in his career where if he just fought every few months, nobody would even care if they're good every time. Just get a few more KO's and build the reputation. Anybody in the Top 50 would do really.

[Coco]

Problem is that the opponents want silly money

One of the pitfalls of billing your fighter as the new Mike Tyson

[tony1234]

Frank Bruno had 13 bouts in his first year, most knockover jobs but it's taken Itauma 2 1/2 years to do the same and nothing to say his opponents have been any better. Either unknowns or well past their best like Whyte.

At least Bruno was building up a following on the BBC, how is Itauma going to do that by not fighting or on DAZN ?

[paultom]

Problem is that the opponents want silly money

One of the pitfalls of billing your fighter as the new Mike Tyson

the real Mike Tyson had 28 fights in his first 2.5 years and that included winning the WBC title

[Coco]

Problem is that the opponents want silly money

One of the pitfalls of billing your fighter as the new Mike Tyson

the real Mike Tyson had 28 fights in his first 2.5 years and that included winning the WBC title

Exactly that, if you are already world champ, the money is already generated.
Tyson was doing his talking in the ring, he went under the radar a bit, so they could afford opponents.

With Moses huge build up, they need Saudi money for everyone to get paid and for the show to break even.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Moses Itauma expects to return in 2026 | 'Fabio Wardley is a real rocky story, I back him all the way'

Moses Itauma defeated Dillian Whyte inside one round in August; he has not been able to box since then; while he had been targeting a bout in December that might have to be put back to next year; Promoter allegedly expects to press for Itauma's right to challenge for WBA secondary belt

Moses Itauma believes he is unlikely to fight again before the end of the year.

The rising heavyweight star is coming off a breakthrough performance when he knocked out Dillian Whyte in their first round in August.

Itauma had been looking to keep that momentum going and box again in December, but now expects his next fight to take place in the early part of 2026.

"I wanted to box December 13 but I think that got kind of anointed to Dillian Whyte versus [Derek] Chisora. So I feel like it's going to be something end of Jan, end of Feb. So we'll see," Itauma told Sky Sports News.

It means he will only have boxed twice this year and, with his propensity for knocking out his opponents, that's been scarcely three rounds of action in 2025.

Looking ahead to next year, Itauma said: "You can set yourself goals and you'll never be able to achieve it only because it's never in your hands. My goals are to knock everybody that they put in front of me out. But apart from that, I can't really do much."

A complication for plotting Itauma's next move has been the situation of the WBA 'regular' heavyweight title, their secondary belt.

Itauma had been mandated as the next challenger for the WBA 'regular' belt held by Kubrat Pulev, but the Bulgarian has since announced a fight with Murat Gassiev in December.

Itauma's promoter allegedly said: "We've got to see what happens with this Pulev situation because the WBA ordered that fight and he can't get out of it. We'll see where we go.

"They're talking about they want to go to Dubai for this Gassiev fight but the WBA has not sanctioned that fight, to my knowledge. How can you sanction a fight if you're putting another one out? So we are where we are."

Itauma commended Wardley's showing. "He's just beat a guy who's got a whole amateur pedigree, has fought all these names and Fabio's just come there with a couple of unlicenced fights and now could be potentially boxing for the heavyweight championship of the world. It's not a mockery of the sport, it's more a real Rocky story," Itauma told Sky Sports News.

"If he does fight [Usyk] I would back him all the way but it's a difficult ask. He's in the same gym as me so I'm never going to hate on him.

"He's done it himself, but he has definitely overachieved in the sport. So anything that he does from now on is always going to be just a bonus."

[Ruthless-RKO]

fighting Jermaine Franklin on 24 January 2026

[Ruthless-RKO]

Moses Itauma-Jermaine Franklin Tops Queensberry's Magnificent 7 Card, Jan. 24

Moses Itauma will headline Queensberry's return to Manchester, when he faces Jermaine Franklin in the headliner of their latest Magnificent Seven show on January 24.

Franklin (24-2, 15 KOs) is well-known to British audiences, having gone the 12-round distance with former Itauma opponent Dillian Whyte and two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua during a five-month stretch between November 2022 and April 2023.

WBA's No. 1-ranked contender Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs) was originally slated to top the bill on December 13 alongside Derek Chisora in separate bouts, before news broke of Kubrat Pulev opting to box Murat Gassiev - conflicting with the sanctioning body's order days before to begin negotiations with the 20-year-old talent.

Instead now rather than wait on the sidelines, he gets a perfect opportunity to learn and bank rounds against a durable opponent in Franklin, who ended a 16-month layoff with a narrow 10-round points win over Ivan Dychko on the Canelo-Crawford undercard September 13.

Elsewhere on the card, some tasty tussles have been announced to begin the new year including another crossroads clash at light heavyweight.

The Ring's No. 10-rated contender, Willy Hutchinson (19-2, 14 KOs) seeks to pick up where he left off against Mark Jeffers when facing Ezra Taylor (12-0, 8 KOs), unwilling to wait after news of Lewis Edmondson's hip injury saw their British title fight fall through last month.

The pair were involved in a heated discussion ringside on November 1 as Joshua Buatsi's promotional debut ended contentiously with a 10-round majority decision win over Zach Parker and less than two weeks later, they've been matched with one another.

[Ruthless-RKO]

So they can say he did what AJ and Whyte couldn't

[big lennox]

That's a good choice of opponent. Franklin, whilst not the most exciting of fighters to watch, is durable and knows his way around the ring.