Jermaine Franklin is well aware the magnitude of the task he faces having to fight Britain’s fast-rising contender Moses Itauma on March 28 at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England, atop a Queensberry Promotions card on DAZN.
The American backs himself to triumph nonetheless, having identified what he seemingly regards as a weakness within his rival, despite obvious assets he’s shown, rampaging his way through the heavyweight division to date, defeating the likes of Mariusz Wach, Mike Balogun, and Dillian Whyte in lightning-quick fashion to date.
“He’s fast, he throws combinations, [and] he’s kind of good at counterpunching and stuff like that,” Franklin said of Itauma, per Bad Left Hook.
“He’s a little aggressive, so we’ve watched a lot of tape so I just can’t wait for it. [To beat him, I] just fight my fight, fight my style, get him frustrated, take away some of the things he does great and make him have to try new things to compete.
“If I see the opportunity I’m going for it, but I won’t rush it,” he said, before turning to weaknesses he can possibly exploit.
“He ain’t never been in deep waters so it’ll be a different territory for him.”
With a pro record of 24-2 (15 KOs), Franklin has already gone the distance in losses to Whyte and Anthony Joshua, rebounding with three wins on the spin, including, most recently, a victory via decision over Ivan Dychko.
He believes these experiences could be the difference on the night.
“I done been in deep waters a couple times so I know how it is, how it feels, so I think deep waters benefits me more,” said Franklin. “Your body reacts different when you’re tired in the later rounds so I know how to get punches off in the later rounds, how to set certain stuff up in the later rounds.”
MUST READ:
