Moses Itauma justified the hype yet again on Saturday, pulverising Jermaine Franklin to stay unbeaten and step closer to a world heavyweight title fight.
Itauma, 21, did what Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte could not, as he became the first boxer to knock out Franklin, requiring just five rounds to do so.
After that scintillating victory at Manchester’s Co-op Live, where Itauma also dropped the 32-year-old American in round three, attention turns to the Kent fighter’s next move.
The four major heavyweight belts are held by two boxers – Ukrainian great Oleksandr Usyk, and Itauma’s teammate Fabio Wardley – who both have fights booked.
With this in mind, Indy Sport breaks down the options for Itauma’s next opponent, including one who poses a very specific problem when it comes to his coaching situation.
It’s worth saying: Itauma’s promoter Frank Warren is eyeing a July return for his star prospect, which could complicate matters; a lot of key heavyweights are fighting in the next few months, meaning Itauma may need a tune-up before facing one of the names below or he may need to wait until September to fight them.
Oleksandr Usyk
Frankly, it’s unlikely that Itauma and Usyk ever cross paths. The unified heavyweight champ is scheduled to fight kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on 23 May (at the pyramids of Giza!), which says something about where Usyk is in his career. The unbeaten 39-year-old has achieved all there is to achieve and should be allowed to focus on a few more major paydays, rather than risky fights with young contenders.
This isn’t to say we think Itauma would beat Usyk, who said he doesn’t want to “break” the Briton, while the latter has resisted calling for the fight. “Usyk has earned the right to do whatever he wants,” Itauma said on Saturday. “There’s a pecking order that obviously I’ve got to respect.”
Fabio Wardley or Daniel Dubois
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These two will clash in a mouthwatering fight for Wardley’s WBO title on 9 May. Both fighters have a link to Itauma – Dubois as a fellow Queensberry fighter, and Wardley as a Queensberry boxer who shares Itauma’s head coach Ben Davison. Therefore, Dubois is a likelier opponent for Itauma if he overcomes Wardley, while a victory for the latter would prove more complicated. This brings us to the fascinating factor mentioned above: if Wardley were to face Itauma, whose corner would Davison be in?
Wardley was a guest analyst on Saturday and mentioned various reasons why he and Itauma might be kept apart for now. He even talked up the idea of the pair holding all the world titles at the same gym, and trying to keep them there by fending off separate challengers.
Make no mistake, though: if Frank Warren feels Wardley vs Itauma is the right fight, he’ll make it. Last week, Indy Sport asked the Queensberry boss how he feels when his boxers square off, and he said: “I think everybody wins, to be quite honest. There are fights that haven’t happened because of politics […] the fact that we’ve got quite a strong presence in the division [means] we’re making the fights happen. And it’s not the end of the world if somebody gets beaten.”
Filip Hrgovic
A name that Itauma has actively mentioned. “I just like the Hrgovic fight,” he said on Saturday. “It’s nothing personal […] I’ve always just tried to strive for greatness, and Hrgovic is a great fight for me. But he’s boxing Dave Allen so we’ve just got to go back to the drawing board and see who’s available.” Indeed, the Croat will face Allen on 16 May, so he might be available to box Itauma thereafter – but surely later than Warren’s ideal July date.
Justis Huni
Another heavyweight with a fight booked. Huni will box Frazer Clarke on 11 April, on the Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov undercard, in what is considered a tough test for Clarke. If Huni sees off the ex-Olympian, he might make sense for Itauma, as was mentioned on Saturday’s broadcast. The Australian is aiming to bounce back from his first professional loss, a KO by Wardley late in a fight that Huni was winning.
Agit Kabayel
Kabayel is Usyk’s mandatory challenger for the WBC title, and he will surely be next for the Ukrainian if Usyk beats Verhoeven… So, would he risk his status against Itauma? It’d be a bold move by someone who has had to wait longer for his chance than he should have. The unbeaten German is definitely game, but we don’t think he’d accept a match-up with Itauma – and that would be totally fair.
An American opponent?
Given how busy a lot of the above names are, maybe it makes sense to look elsewhere, and trying to boost Itauma’s profile in the US would be smart. Hours after Warren spoke to Indy Sport about why it’s no big deal for his fighters to face each other, Queensberry announced they had signed Jared Anderson… Could the US prospect be paired with Itauma? Perhaps Queensberry has a different vision for the “Real Big Baby”. So, what about Andy Ruiz Jr? His name has been thrown about by fans, and he ticks a few boxes: (Mexican-)American, former world champ, carries speed and experience. We’d back that pairing.
A wildcard pick…
We’ve got two big heavyweight fights over the next two weeks: Derek Chisora vs Deontay Wilder on Saturday, then Fury vs Mahkhmudov on 11 April. If Wilder is able to roll back the years and beat Chisora, it’s possible that Warren would fancy pitting Itauma against the American. Wilder is an ex-world champion and a devastating puncher, but he’s looked a faded force in recent years, and Itauma has the speed avoiding the “Bronze Bomber”’s most-dangerous offence. If Chisora wins on Saturday? He’s said he’ll retire regardless of the result, but could he be tempted to face Itauma for the right pay? Don’t rule it out. Fury will not face Itauma, but if Makhmudov upsets the “Gypsy King”, he’d be a good candidate to box Itauma. However, the Russian might set his sights on a world title if he beats Fury.
