Moses Itauma continued his seemingly inevitable journey towards a heavyweight world title with a stunning demolition job of Jermaine Franklin
Moses Itauma celebrates his win
George Groves believes Moses Itauma would beat Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury – but not Oleksandr Usyk.
Itauma destroyed American Jermaine Franklin in Manchester last weekend with a fifth-round knockout to extend his unbeaten record to 14 fights. The 21-year-old Brit has long been tipped for the top and is expected to challenge for a world title before the end of the year.
He is unlikely to ever take on Fury or Joshua while Usyk has distanced himself from a clash with the young pretender. And Groves believes that while he could beat his fellow countrymen, Itauma would be wise to stay clear of Usyk for the time being.
“Itauma beats Joshua,” he told Fruity King. He’s just too quick, too sharp, too fast. Joshua’s head has always been a little bit too static, he’d probably stop him. Tyson Fury in shape could probably negate Itauma for a couple of rounds, but he won’t be dangerous. Itauma’s just too fresh, too sharp, I think he’ll hurt him, possibly stop him. The only guy in the world who I think beats Itauma right now is Oleksandr Usyk.
FOLLOW OUR FIGHTING FB PAGE! Latest boxing and MMA news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
READ MORE: ‘I had ringside view of Moses Itauma KO – this is why he is special’READ MORE: Floyd Mayweather completely contradicts Manny Pacquiao fight rules
Indeed, Itauma accepts the unified champion won’t be in a rush to agree a fight. “Listen, Usyk has earned the right to do whatever he wants,” Itauma said. “There’s a pecking order that obviously I’ve got to respect. I don’t pay attention to any of that, I don’t really care what any of these other heavyweights think or feel. I know what the truth is and I know the ability that I’m capable of. Now I’ve got to go out there and show it.
“I’ve just turned 21, I’ve got Dillian Whyte, Demsey McKean, now Jermaine Franklin — knockouts, by the way — under my belt. I always knew I could do this but I didn’t think it would be so soon. I’ve done what some other British heavyweights couldn’t do and they’ve gone on to achieve successful things. So what’s the limit for me?”
Usyk will take on former world kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt on May 23 and Itauma’s promoter Frank Warren wants to get the youngster back in the ring in July.However, he i s ranked the No.1 challenger in the WBO and WBA rankings and Warren hopes to arrange a world title fight later in the year.
Fabio Wardley, who shares the same trainer as Itauma in Ben Davison and is also under Warren’s stable of fighters, currently holds the WBO title and takes on fellow Briton Daniel Dubois on May 9. Itauma revealed afterwards top of his immediate wishlist is a bout with former IBF interim title challenger Filip Hrgovic, although the Croatian takes on Dave Allen in Doncaster on May 16.