Moses Itauma strengthened his claim for a world heavyweight title with a brutal knockout of Jermaine Franklin at the Co-Op Live in Manchester.
The Chatham fighter moved to 14-0 in his nascent career, with the 21-year-old eyeing the best on the planet as he secured a devastating fifth-round stoppage.
He started in scintillating fashion, blitzing his American opponent in the opening exchanges, before knocking him down in the third with a right hook.
Itauma’s veteran opponent responded well in the fourth, landing some accurate body shots, but Itauma roared back, landing a perfectly-timed uppercut, swiftly followed by the right hook to deliver the fatal blow that puts him in pole position to challenge for one of the top belts in the division.
He successfully defended his WBA International heavyweight belt, as well as the WBO Inter-contientnal championship.
The big question for Itauma is who he will face next.
He is ranked No1 in the WBO and the WBA, with promoter Frank Warren promising a “big, big fight”, eyeing a July return date for the young star.
Fabio Wardley holds one belt, with Oleksandr Usyk occupying the other three championships.
Wardley takes on Daniel Dubois in May, while Usyk returns to the ring against kickboxer Agit Kabayel later on that month.
Itauma admitted that he had wanted to face Filip Hrgovic, who is fresh off his victory over David Adeleye last August.
“If I’m being completely honest, I wanted the Hrgovic fight,” Itauma said.
“But he’s fighting Dave Allen. I don’t know. We’ll go back to the drawing board and see who’s there. We’ll be back soon.”
