Moses Itauma is the most exciting thing in boxing’s heavyweight division since a young Mike Tyson terrorised opponents back in the day, and he faces another major test in his next fight.
The prodigiously talented 20-year-old from Chatham in Kent has looked absolutely sensational in steamrollering his way to a 13-0 pro record with 11 of those wins coming inside two rounds.
In his last outing in August, the man they call ‘Enriko’ produced probably his most devastating performance yet as he blasted out former world title challenger Dillian Whyte inside a round in Riyadh.
It was astonishing stuff from Itauma – Whyte was seen as his first major professional test but he was completely destroyed by a stunning combination of speed and power.
It says much about Itauma’s reputation and performances that he is already ranked #1 by the WBO as he looks to move closer to challenging the mighty undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Itauma vs Franklin is official
Now Moses will return to action on January 24 next year in Manchester, England – and his opponent will be the tough and durable American Jermaine Franklin (live on DAZN).
The 32-year-old Franklin (24-2 with 15 wins inside distance) has already showed his credentials to British fight fans by going the distance with Whyte and Anthony Joshua in back-to-back fights in 2022 and 2023.
First Franklin dropped a majority decision to Whyte in their meeting at London’s Wembley Arena in November 22, and five months later he acquitted himself well against Joshua before dropping a unanimous decision at London’s O2 Arena.
Since that night against AJ, Franklin has only fought three times – all of them victories – the most recent coming against Ivan Dychko on the Canelo vs Crawford undercard in Las Vegas in September. That night he rumbled to a comfortable if underwhelming unanimous win over 10 rounds.
Itauma will start a huge favourite at the Co-Op Live Arena on January 24, with oddsmakers quoting him at 1/20 in the early going. Franklin is a 9/1 outsider with the Draw a 25/1 shot.
‘Magnificent 7’ undercard
Itauma vs Franklin tops a spectacular ‘Magnificent 7’ card put on by Queensberry Promotions and its Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren to mark 45 years in the fight game. The rest of the show has some cracking scraps as well.
The chief support is a domestic light heavyweight blockbuster which sees Willy Hutchinson (19-2, 14) and Ezra Taylor (13-0, 9) go into battle. Hutchinson will come into the fight fresh from a hugely impressive showing against Mark Jeffers in October, while Taylor accounted for Steed Woodall, with both fighters inflicting stoppage defeats on their opponents.
There is also an all-British featherweight collision for the fans with British and Commonwealth champion Zak Miller (17-1, 3) going up against Liam Davies (17-1, 8). Telford’s Davies was previously the IBO world, British and European champion at super bantamweight, along with holding the WBC and WBO International titles.
The WBO Global middleweight champion Shakiel Thompson (15-0, 11) will face former British champion Brad Pauls (20-2-1, 11). Thompson from Sheffield, a recent Queensberry recruit, won the belt with a defeat of River Wilson-Bent in late 2024.
Also, at 160lbs, Stoke hero Nathan Heaney (19-1-1, 6) is back in the ring, no doubt supported by his army of fans from the Potteries, taking on the Welsh southpaw Gerome Warburton (16-2-2, 2). Then, at lightweight, Alex Murphy (14-2) goes up against the English champion Josh Holmes (17-0, 6) while another lightweight clash sees Aqib Fiaz (14-1, 2) take on Jordan Flynn (12-1-1, 2).
‘Perfect test for Itauma’ – Warren
Warren said: “We are thrilled to be delivering such a strong Magnificent 7 bounty for the fans in our first UK show of 2026. It is a statement of intent for the New Year and a sign of things to come.
“We are delighted with what we have put together across 2025 in tandem with our new broadcast partner DAZN, but we have the scope to go bigger and further in 2026, which we will do and make it a landmark year for the sport.
“This show will also effectively celebrate my 45th year in the professional business and I believe this card certainly does justice to the occasion and I am very happy to have our heavyweight prodigy Moses topping the bill in another perfect test of his unquestionable credentials against a very tough American in Jermaine Franklin.”
