Moses Itauma, di 21-year-old British heavyweight wey dey rise, don do wetin Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte no fit do. Him stop Jermaine Franklin for round five for Co-op Live for Manchester. Di knockout wey come violent announce Itauma as more than just prospect, but as di real thing for heavyweight division.
Franklin, di rugged American wey don face Joshua and Whyte for 24 rounds total without ever go down for good, fall face-first for canvas after finishing sequence wey shock everybody. Veteran matchmaker Eric Bottjer talk say na “one of di most memorable knockouts ever by young heavyweight.”
Di knockout no come cheap. Franklin wey enter di fight with record of 24-2 with 15 knockouts, don build reputation on durability wey dey force young fighters to think past first few rounds. Itauma admit say him originally aim for early finish but change plan. “I try to knock him out for first or second round, trying to win few people some dough, but I just feel like, ‘Ah, maybe not today,'” Itauma talk. “So I go back to basics, going down to body, and then di knockout just come.”
Wetin him describe as going back to basics look like controlled demolition. Itauma dominate opening round with sharp right hooks and left-hand combinations, strafing Franklin with speed and accuracy wey di Michigan native no fit match. Second round bring more body shots, jabs, uppercuts, all dey land with increasing frequency.
Di fight tilt decisively for third round. Itauma land heavy right hook early, then drive body shot through Franklin guard before terrific right hook put American for canvas with about twenty seconds remain. Franklin rise and throw punch before bell, show di stubbornness wey earn him respect across two continents.
Brief lull for fourth round give Franklin him best stretch of di fight. Him land body shots of him own and show flashes of competitive spirit wey take Joshua full twelve rounds for April 2023. But Itauma drive him to ropes with left hand late for round, and di momentary resistance look more like stay of execution than shift for momentum.
Di end come for fifth. Itauma land right hook wey wobble Franklin, then follow with left hand wey buckle him further. Tremendous left uppercut on inside, followed by clubbing right hand, finish am. Franklin fall face-first to canvas for kind emphatic stoppage wey separate contenders from curiosities.
Significance of di stoppage extend beyond highlight reel. Franklin, 32, from Saginaw, Michigan, na fighter wey entire professional identity dey built on being there at final bell. Him don absorb Joshua power over twelve rounds at The O2 Arena for London, walk out on him feet. Him lose disputed majority decision to Whyte at Wembley Arena for November 2022. For him most recent outing last September for Las Vegas, him outpoint Olympic bronze medalist Ivan Dychko over twelve rounds.
No one don stop Franklin as professional before. Dat Itauma do am, and do am with composed violence wey suggest say him get more for reserve, speak to power output wey heavyweight division no see from 21-year-old since Mike Tyson dey dismantle division old guard for mid-1980s.
Itauma born Enriko Itauma on December 28, 2004, for Kežmarok, Slovakia, to Nigerian father and Slovak mother. Family leave Slovakia for England when him dey four years old, driven in part by racism dem experience there. Him settle for Chatham, Kent, follow him older brother Karol, now professional light heavyweight, into St. Mary’s ABC at age nine, and compile undefeated amateur record of 24-0 with 11 knockouts.
Him collect gold medals at Youth European Championships and Heavyweight Youth World Championships before turn professional at 18 with Queensberry Promotions for January 2023. Professional career don unfold at pace wey even him promoter, Frank Warren, dey struggle to keep up with.
Itauma win vacant WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title with second-round stoppage of Ilja Mezencev on Fury-Usyk undercard for Saudi Arabia for May 2024. Him stop experienced Mariusz Wach for two rounds at The O2 two months later. Him flatten Demsey McKean for one round for Riyadh dat December. And for August 2025, him demolish former world title challenger Dillian Whyte for first round to claim Commonwealth heavyweight title.
Dat performance earn him The Ring magazine 2024 Prospect of di Year award and put entire division on formal notice. Trained by Ben Davison, wey previously work with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, Itauma fight from southpaw stance and combine hand speed, timing, and maturity for ring wey belies him age.
Entering Saturday, Itauma dey ranked No. 1 by both WBO and WBA, No. 3 by WBC, and No. 11 by IBF. WBO heavyweight title now belong to him gymmate Fabio Wardley, wey dem upgrade to full champion following him win over Joseph Parker late last year. Oleksandr Usyk hold WBA (Super), WBC, and IBF belts.
Warren, speaking after Saturday knockout, signal say world title shot fit come before end of 2026. “He go dey out again probably for July,” Warren talk. “We go dey announce something once we sit down and look at few things. Him dey No. 1 for WBO, and him dey No. 1 for WBA. Plenty fights dey happen over next few months, and we go sort something out.”
Timeline don accelerate within hours of knockout. WBO President Gustavo Olivieri post for X Saturday night say him go formally recommend to WBO Championship Committee say dem designate Itauma as mandatory challenger for heavyweight division. Di post, wey WBO official account repost, cite Itauma position as No. 1 world-rated contender and him knockout of fellow world-rated contender Franklin for defense of him WBO Inter-Continental title.
If committee approve designation, WBO heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley go dey obligated to face Itauma or risk dem strip him of belt. “When Usyk retire, Itauma go be di standard bearer,” Bottjer talk.
Itauma himself once harbor ambitions of breaking Tyson record as youngest heavyweight world champion for history, mark set at 20 years and 145 days when Tyson stop Trevor Berbick for WBC title for November 1986. Dat window don close. But broader goal remain very much alive.
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