Southpaw hopeful Moses Itauma has stated that he fully focused on Jermaine Franklin Jr this Saturday, despite being fantasy-matched with highest echelons on the heavyweight division.
Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs) headlines at the CO-OP Live Arena in Manchester following a hot run of form, which has seen him step his level of opposition in his last four fights. The 21-year old’s form has seen the Chatham man linked with the very best in the division, including current world champions Oleksandr Usyk and Fabio Wardley.
“To be honest, I’ve been turning down questions about other heavyweights because I have a serious opponent in Jermaine Franklin,” Itauma said at today’s official press conference. “We’ve been asking for this fight for a year and a half, something like that. So, now that I got it, I feel like this is the final piece to the puzzle. There’re questions that my team wants to know about me, and there are questions that I need to know about myself. And I’m sure there are a lot of questions that the fans want to know about me as well.”
The “final piece of the puzzle” comes to England for a third occasion, having lost back-to-back on the scorecards against Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua in 2022 and 2023.
Franklin (24-2, 15 KOs) didn’t find England to be a happy hunting ground, the only blemishes on his record are the two fights in London. However, the American has bounced back with three straight victories since.
“When I get asked about other fighters, that’s not going to happen if I don’t get through Jermaine Franklin.” Itauma continued; This is a serious fight and I’m looking forward to it.”
Itauma vs Franklin Jr will be broadcast live on DAZN courtesy of Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions.