Moses Itauma’s impressive run of knockouts continued last night with a fifth round destruction of Jermaine Franklin Jr in Manchester.
Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) dropped Franklin Jr in third round on route to a destructive fifth round knockout at the CO-OP Live Arena, handing the American his first stoppage defeat. A feat neither Dillian Whyte or Anthony Joshua could achieve.
“He took AJ’s best shots, he took Dillian Whyte’s best shots, but he could take mine,” Itauma told the Queensberry Promotions YouTube channel.
Itauma has been struggling to get any rounds under his belt for much of his career. The 21-year-old has stopped his previous nine opponents inside two rounds. His victim list includes Dillian Whyte and Mariusz Wach.
“Boxing is the only sport where you lose a little bit even when you win,” Itauma explained. “Even though my shots wasn’t, I guess, effecting him or hurting him I knew that was little bit a percentage of his armour that goes. It was a matter of time.
“I threw the uppercut and then I stepped off him to go to the body and then switch it back up top,” Itauma added. “The I popped him with he uppercut and could see that he was all over the place. So, I was like, yeah this is my moment, and then he’s already face planted the floor.”
Talk inevitably turns toward who is next for Itauma? Many of the heavyweight division’s major players are tied up over the next two months.
“I wanted [Filip] Hrgovic but obviously he’s boxing Dave Allen,” Itauma added. “I don’t know [who is next]. I suppose we will go back to the drawing board and see who is available and offer a few fights out.”
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