Moses Itauma welcomes Jermaine Franklin Jr to the CO-OP Live Arena in Manchester this Saturday in a boxing contest that hopes to offer some distance for the rising British heavyweight.
The 21 year old has ravaged his last four opponents inside two rounds. Dillian Whyte, Mike Balogun, Demsey McKean and Mariusz Wach have all felt the disastrous power of the man expected to rule the heavyweight division in the not to distant future.
Franklin Jr returns to the UK for his third appearance. The 32 year old American lost on the scorecards to Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua, back-to-back between November 2022 and April 2023. The Michigan man has rebuilt since with three straight victories. The most recent success, a unanimous-decision win in a sluggish affair with the undefeated Kazakh Ivan Dychko last September. I his two fights prior, Franklin Jr had retired the little known Devin Vargas (22-10, 9 KOs at the time) and comfortably outpointed an undefeated Mexican in Issac Munoz Gutierrez.
Itauma’s rankings look favorably upon him, sitting in the No. 1 spot for Fabio Wardley’s WBO title and Oleksandr Usyk’s WBA belt. He also ranks in 3rd place with the WBC and in 11th position with the IBF where Usyk is the champion. Meanwhile, Franklin Jr is in 10th place with the WBA and WBO. The contest signifies Itauma’s last fight before being launched into the elite of the heavyweight division, while Franklin Jr has the chance to plant himself on the top division of boxing’s most lucrative weight class.
Itauma vs Franklin Jr will begin a busy period that will define the division in the near future. A week after Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder collide at the O2 Arena in London, followed by Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 11. Fabio Wardley will also defend his WBO title against Daniel Dubois on May 9, while Usyk meets kickboxing super star Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza in May 23.
How to watch Moses Itauma vs Jermaine Franklin Jr live online
Iatuma vs Franklin Jr will be airing worldwide on streaming service DAZN courtesy of Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions. The network is available worldwide, offering a subscription service paid monthly or annually. Prices differ on region, but expect to pay between $10.99 and $30.99 per month.
What is DAZN?
DAZN is a streaming and television service that brands itself as “The Global Home of Boxing.”
DAZN is available worldwide, offering a subscription service paid monthly or annually. Prices differ on region, but expect to pay between $10.99 and $30.99 per month.
DAZN also has a pay-per-view platform. Derek Chisora vs Deontay Wilder on May 4 will be on that platform. Prices are between $19.99 and $49.99 depending on region.
Itauma vs Franklin Jr is not pay-per-view and is available worldwide on the regular DAZN subscription service.
Itauma vs Franklin Jr tale of the tape
| Fighter Facts | Moses Ituama | Jermaine Franklin Jr |
| Nickname | None | 989 Assasin |
| Nationality | British (Chatham, Kent) | American (Saginaw, Michigan) |
| Age | 21 | 33 |
| Height | 6-foot-4.5 (194 cm) | 6-foot-3 (191 cm) |
| Reach | 79″ (201 cm) | 77″ (196 cm) |
| Stance | Southpaw | Orthodox |
| Professional Record | 13-0 | 24-2 |
| KOs | 11 | 15 |
| KO % | 85% | 63% |
| Last 3 Fights | 3-0 (W, W, W) | 3-0 (W, W, W) |
| Current Odds | 1/15 (Favorite) | 23/2 (Underdog) |
Fight Records (Last 5 Bouts)
| Fighter | Result | Opponent | Method | Date |
| Moses Itauma | Win | Dillian Whyte | TKO (Rd 1) | Aug. 16, 2025 |
| Win | Mike Balogun | TKO (Rd 2) | May. 24, 2025 | |
| Win | Demsey McKean | TKO (Rd 1) | Dec. 21, 2024 | |
| Win | Mariusz Wach | TKO (Rd 2) | Jul. 27, 2024 | |
| Win | Ilja Mezencev | TKO (Rd 2) | May. 18, 2024 | |
| Jermaine Franklin Jr | Win | Ivan Dychko | US (12 Rds) | Sep. 13, 2025 |
| Win | Devin Vargas | RTD (Rd 6) | May. 23, 2024 | |
| Win | Issac Munoz Gutierrez | UD (12 Rds) | Jul. 15, 2023 | |
| Loss | Anthony Joshua | UD (12 Rds) | Apr. 01, 2023 | |
| Loss | Dillian Whyte | MD (12 Rds) | Nov. 26, 2022 |
Itauma vs Franklin Jr fight time
- Date: Saturday, March 27, 2026
- Main Card Starts: 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 5 p.m. GMT
- Main Event Ring Walks (Approx): 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT / 11 p.m. GMT
The broadcast for the main card begins 5 p.m. local time (PT). This means 8 p.m. for those on ET, and 1 a.m. on GMT. To make things easier, we’ve put the global fight times below.
| Region | City | Main Card Starts | Ring Walks (Approx) |
| US & Canada (Western) | Las Vegas / Vancouver | 10:00 AM PT | 4:00 PM PT |
| US & Canada (Eastern) | New York / Toronto | 1:00 PM ET | 7:00 PM ET |
| UK & Ireland (Local) | London / Dublin | 5:00 PM GMT | 11:00 PM GMT |
| Central Europe | Berlin / Madrid | 6:00 PM CET | 12:00 AM CET |
| Australia (Sunday) | Sydney / Melbourne | 4:00 AM AEDT Sunday | 10:00 AM AEDT Sunday |
| New Zealand (Sunday) | Auckland | 6:00 AM NZDT Sunday | 12:00 PM NZDT Sunday |
Itauma and Franklin Jr aren’t the only two locking horns in Manchester – below is our pick of the undercard.
- Liam Davies Vs Francisco Grandelli Ezra Taylor at featherweight
- Davies will have a crack at vacant European title alongside Grandelli’s WBO intercontinental belt over 12 rounds. Davies’ blossoming career hit a bump, losing a close split-decision to Shabaz Masoud in November 2024. However, 29-year-old from Telford bounced back with a victory over Kurt Walker last May. Grandelli, of Italy, is on a three fight winning streak, but lost on his last visit to the UK against Nathaniel Collins nearly two years ago.
- Willy Hutchinson vs Ezra Taylor at light heavyweight
- An all-English collision stands out on a potentially enthralling undercard between Hutchinson and Taylor for the WBO global belt in a ten round contest. Hutchinson comes into the domestic encounter off a seventh round stoppage victory over Mark Jeffers last October. The undefeated Taylor goes up a level on Saturday. His last fight being a ninth round TKO against Steed Woodall in October.
Itauma vs Franklin Jr our prediction
On paper it should be another short night’s work for Itauma as the young heavyweight is fast approaching being launched into the elite of the division. Form and activity stack up for the odds being heavily in favor of Itauma. Judging by Franklin Jr’s last outing, the American will need to perform much higher than he did against against Dychko. It would be fair to argue that Franklin Jr is not Ituama’s toughest test to date. I expect Itauma to get the job finished, but a little later than usual. — Boxing Social reporter Adam Noble-Forcey.
Closing thoughts
“If Moses Itauma is everything that the British boxing industry expects him to be then he should make light work of Jermaine Franklin,” writes Boxing Social editor Alan Dawson. “And that is not a knock on Franklin, who has bounced back from successive losses to Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua to post three wins on the spin, including a decision over Olympic Ukrainian Ivan Dychko, last year.
“But while American heavyweight struggles to assert itself internationally, the British scene appears far stronger, spear-led by Itauma, with his exceptional speed, ring craft, and raw knockout power. The question isn’t whether Itauma beats Franklin but, rather, how quickly he does so, to separate himself from what both Whyte and Joshua have already proven they were able to do — win via outpointing.”
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