Itauma And Fundora Close Out March With Dominating Performances

 The final weekend of March 2026 in the Boxing world was highlighted by two events on March 28th taking place in Manchester, England and Las Vegas, NV respectively. First, it was fast-rising Heavyweight Moses Itauma, who looked for his fourteenth victory in as many fights in his professional career as he faced veteran contender Jermaine Franklin at the Co-op Arena in Manchester, England.

Coming off of a destructive first round knockout of longtime Heavyweight contender and former world title challenger Dillian Whyte last August in Saudi Arabia, some thought this bout against a durable and always determined opponent in Jermaine Franklin, could have provided a test for the twenty-one year old “Knockout Artist" Itauma. Despite the test some were expecting, which was based on significant evidence in that Franklin had not been stopped in his career and had gone the distance with both Whyte and former two-time World Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, Itauma would provide another example as to why he has been given that label.

From the opening bell, Itauma put Franklin on the defensive. In all truth and honestly with the reader, this observer was not surprised in Itauma’s approach here as I stated in previewing this fight, that it was logical to assume that Franklin would have to weather an early storm if he were to extend him into the middle and late rounds of the fight.

What I frankly did not expect was how Itauma more or less nullified Franklin's offensive output before he could have a chance to find a rhythm, albeit while largely on the defensive. In round three Itauma dropped Franklin for the first time in his career with a perfectly timed left hook to the jaw. Itauma had succeeded in doing something that neither Dillian Whyte or Anthony Joshua were able to accomplish in sending Jermaine Franklin down to the canvas, but he was not done.

Although Franklin did manage to land a few hard shots that did seem to land flush, the tempo of the combat remained the same. Itauma landing harder blows and keeping Franklin in a defensive state. This was until round five when Itauma produced another devastating knockout to go on his resume. Connecting with a flush right uppercut that froze Franklin on his feet, followed by another flush left hand to the jaw that sent Franklin down hard on the canvas. The bout was stopped by Referee Steve Gray. 

With now twelve knockouts in fourteen career bouts, Moses Itauma continues to seemingly be on the fast track towards a world title opportunity. Before discussing what may follow, however, the time has come to discuss the second bout that took place on March 28th.

Yours truly is referring to the third title defense of WBC World Jr. Middleweight world champion Sebastian Fundora, who defended his title against former Welterweight world champion Keith Thurman at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. While this fight had the classic scenario of youth versus experience in a young world champion who may very well be ascending towards the sport’s mythical pound for pound debates going against a former world champion who had more experience and had shared the ring with some of the best fighters of his era, this fight also had the aspect of a fighter in Thurman, who has been plagued by inactivity over the last several years attempting to defy all logic by trying to dethrone a world champion known as “The Towering Inferno” due to his standing nearly 6’6 and being blessed with the type of height and reach advantages that is rarely seen in the 154lb. Jr. Middleweight or even the 160lb. Middleweight division. Despite only having one defeat in his career going into this challenge, which came when he lost his Welterweight world championship to Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao in July 2019 in what proved to be a close and competitive bout and having both the experience and type of skillset that theoretically could have posed a threat to Fundora, Thurman had only fought twice in the last six years due to both injuries and like many fighters aligned with the PBC group of promoters, who also promoted this bout, long stretches of inactivity, which was why many felt his chances here in this fight were illogical and may have amounted to a puncher’s chance. 

The champion immediately stunned Thurman in the opening seconds of the first round with a straight left hand from the southpaw stance and would nearly score a knockdown of the former world champion in an almost carbon copy of what had transpired in the first round when Fundora connected with a left hand that badly buckled Thurman’s legs, but narrowly and some might suggest miraculously, Thurman managed to keep his balance and was able to avoid his gloves touching the canvas. From this point in the fight, the contest had seemingly been decided due largely to Fundora fighting a disciplined fight where he made full use of his height and reach advantage over the 5’8 Thurman, which beyond the challenger being able to land occasionally, resulted in him being unable to get into anything that would resemble a consistent rhythm as well as being forced to move laterally constantly in an attempt to avoid the champion’s come forward pressure approach. 

As I watched this fight, I wondered privately if Thurman would gradually find more success, particularly if he were able to get into the second half of the fight due to the constant need to move in trying to evade Fundora, which while certainly not an easy task to accomplish for any fighter at such a height and reach deficit, much less for someone who is thirty-seven years old and who has not been in active competition on a consistent basis over the last have decade, if he were able to get into the middle and late rounds, all of the aforementioned movement would have to at least slow Fundora down a little as the fight progressed. Despite that private observation by yours truly, it was clear that this developed into a scenario where one fighter was being busted up and suffering a beating at the hands of his younger, taller, and longer opponent. 

Although there would be no knockdown of the former champion Thurman, the effects of the punishment he was taking including suffering a bad cut above his left eye and being increasingly unable to land anything of the type of punches that could have kept Fundora off of him convinced Referee Thomas Taylor to step in and mercifully stop the fight at 1:16 of round six, giving Fundora his third successful title defense and his third consecutive knockout victory since becoming a world champion in March of last year.

The twenty-fourth win in twenty-six professional fights for Sebastian Fundora and being the first fighter to stop Keith Thurman serves as another step in the career of a fighter who may indeed become a part of the pound for pound debates as his career progresses. In terms of what’s next for the champion, this observer believes it may be likely that a potential unification bout between Fundora and the winner of the potential fight between Welterweight world champion Jeron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz, who currently has interim champion status in the WBC’s Jr. Middleweight ratings, may indeed be the aim at least in the short-term. Perhaps in the interim, we could see Fundora face top contender Bakary Samake of France who is the WBC Silver Jr. Middleweight champion. One thing is clear, however, if this version of Sebastian Fundora stays where he maintains discipline and makes full use of his naturally blessed gifts of height and reach, it will be very difficult for opposing fighters from Jr. Middleweight to Middleweight to combat him.

Turning back to the first fight that was covered in this column and briefly touching on what may be in store for Moses Itauma, At twenty-one years old and only having fourteen professional fights, it is rare for this observer to proclaim that a fighter with such a resume may be ready for a shot at a world championship. With two devastating knockouts against two legitimate world-rated contenders however, short, yet impressive resume or not, we may see a point perhaps by the end of this year where it will be time to say Itauma should be next in line. While I am not ready to proclaim him as the next challenger to a world champion in the Heavyweight division just yet, the time may indeed be approaching sooner than later. 

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

Update: While this column was in development, it was announced that Jaron Ennis will challenge WBO World Jr. Middleweight champion Xander Zayas on June 27th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

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Itauma-Franklin Preview

In August of last year, undefeated Heavyweight contender Moses Itauma was tasked with what many felt would be the first significant test of his career when he was pitted against longtime Heavyweight contender and former world title challenger Dillian Whyte in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Despite being one of the top Heavyweights of the last fifteen years and having a significant experience advantage over the young and unbeaten “Knockout Artist,” Whyte found himself on the receiving end of a brutal first round knockout loss as many previous Itauma opponents have found themselves. 

The eleventh knockout in thirteen professional bouts for the twenty-one year old current Commonwealth Heavyweight champion seemed to serve as another example of evidence some are pointing to, to annoint Itauma as potentially the next marquee Heavyweight and future world champion. As emphatic as that knockout of the normally durable and always “Game” Whyte was, the question remains, who can provide Moses Itauma with a significant test. It is a question that is often asked of prospects as they work their way towards world contention with the aim of trying to become a world champion. In this case, however, Itauma’s ability to score quick and often devastating knockouts has presented a unique situation, in that despite the limited resume of only having thirteen professional fights, he already appears to be on the doorstep of a world title shot in the near future. The question, therefore, should be, whether Itauma will be put to the test before he faces a world champion?

Perhaps that question will be answered on March 28th at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England where he will face veteran Heavyweight Jermaine Franklin in a scheduled twelve round bout that can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN. Much as was the case when Itauma fought Whyte last summer, the question here has already been stated, can Franklin provide Itauma with a significant test that Whyte could not?

The irony here is Franklin, who will enter the bout with a record of 24-2, with 15 Knockouts, does have Whyte in common with Itauma as a previous opponent, who fought Whyte in November 2022 and in the opinion of some, deserved the decision in that fight that went to Whyte. Franklin's other previous loss came against former two-time Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua, who also defeated him via decision. While Franklin’s two setbacks have come against top level competition, he has not succeeded to this point when he has stepped up in terms of getting his hand raised in victory. What Franklin does have going for him is he's proven to be a world-class boxer and has held his own in his two losses. He has also proven to be durable and has not been dropped up to this point in his career.

Whether or not Franklin can extend Itauma into the middle and late rounds of the fight remains to be seen, but it is logical to assume that he will have to weather a storm of punching power earlier on to attempt to get into the middle rounds and beyond. What will be interesting to this observer is to see if Franklin tries to implement a tactical approach with an emphasis on being more defensive than would be his norm early in the fight having seen what happened to Dillian Whyte when he faced Itauma.

It goes without saying, however, that, despite his limited resume, Moses Itauma has now entered a point in his young career where the stakes will increase with each fight as he continues to push towards a shot at a World Heavyweight championship. Meanwhile, Jermaine Franklin likely sees this as a chance to catapult himself back into the discussion of future challengers and a win here against a fighter of Itauma’s reputation might end up putting him on a short list of such discussion. Put simply it is a fight where both fighters have a lot to gain here and a setback for either will likely push them to the back of the line as there are always fighters looking to maneuver themselves up into position to challenge for a world title.

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

Itauma vs. Franklin takes place on Saturday, March 28th at the Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester, England. The fight as well as its full undercard can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN with preliminary bouts beginning at 11AM ET/8AM PT with the main card beginning at 1PM ET/10AM PT.

(*North American times only.* *Card and Start times Subject to Change.*)

For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times in your area, and to subscribe please visit: www.DAZN.com. 

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The Gamble Pays Off For Itauma, Parker Next?

In May of this year, this observer penned a column here on The Boxing Truth®️ that asked a simple, yet complex question. Is Moses Itauma the future of the Heavyweight division? A question asked in the aftermath of his second round knockout of Mike Balogun in Glasgow, Scotland where the twenty year old “Knockout Artist" moved to 12-0, with 10 Knockouts in defense of regional championships, the WBO Intercontinental and WBA International Heavyweight titles. 

Although only twenty years old with a relatively short resume in the professional ranks, the fact that Itauma had already achieved success in winning regional titles, which is used not only as a theoretical measuring stick for experts to gage the potential of prospects turned contenders as potential world title hopefuls down the line, but more specifically, a caveat to elevating a fighter up the world rankings towards that goal, made the question seem appropriate. As experienced and knowledgeable as yours truly is, having spent most of my life covering Boxing and by extension combat sports, I obviously did not know at the time I wrote that column that Itauma and his promoter Hall of Famer Frank Warren were preparing to roll the dice.

Boxing by its very nature is a sport ideal for taking risks and in taking said risks, those doing so are gambling their standings and potential future positions in their division as well as the sport. The Heavyweight division, perhaps more than most, is one where risks need to be taken and done so regularly if one is serious about challenging for a world championship. In this case, Warren, who has been one of the top promoters in the sport for decades, opted to put his charge in with what was a significant step up in class in the form of former longtime number one Heavyweight contender and former world title challenger Dillian Whyte on August 16th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

Such an encounter beyond the obvious angle of youth versus experience was indeed a gamble at this stage in the twenty year old Itauma’s career. Despite having previously faced former world title challenger Mariusz Wach, there was an argument to be made that Wach was not the fighter he had been when he was viewed as a top contender when Itauma fought him in July of last year in stopping him in two rounds. This, however, was a scenario where Whyte was more towards a point where he had challenged for a world title in 2022, and not more than a decade removed from challenging for world title as Wach had been.

The question for Whyte, who had only fought twice since 2022 was what he had left at this stage in his career after a seventh round stoppage of Ebenezer Tetteh in his last outing in December of last year. Although Whyte got the stoppage in that fight, it was a workmanlike performance rather than one that necessarily convinced fans and experts that Whyte was still a player in the division. 

As had been the case in his fight with Mike Balogun earlier this year, Itauma was surgical in both his approach of Whyte and in his temperament in that he was not awed by Whyte’s experience or what the former world title challenger brought to the table. He simply came forward out of the southpaw stance behind a consistent jab and patiently waited for an opportunity to strike. It would not take long. 

A short left hook to the head buckled the legs of Whyte and the follow-up barrage of blows led to a right hand that dropped Whyte in the first round. As he had done throughout his career in situations where he had been hurt or dropped, Whyte was very “Game" and got to his feet. He was on very unsteady legs and stumbled backwards forcing the fight to be stopped at 1:59 of round one. Despite the significant test and roll of the dice this fight appeared to be on paper, Moses Itauma passed it with flying colors. 

The eleventh knockout in thirteen fights for Itauma puts him in prime position for either a world title shot as the current WBO number one Heavyweight contender or potentially a fight against former WBO Heavyweight world champion Joseph Parker, who currently holds interim championship status in the WBO’s Heavyweight ratings. While Parker is in line to face the recently recrowned Undisputed World Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, the possibility exists that Usyk, who recently asked for an extension from the WBO before being mandated to face Parker, that Itauma could be moved into a fight against Parker, particularly off of the strength of this latest performance. Whether or not that indeed happens remains to be seen, but even with a limited resume, the idea of giving Moses Itauma more time to gain experience before challenging for a world title has now passed and the reality is after taking what some saw as a gamble, which clearly paid off, the only fighter that might be standing in the way of a world title shot is Joseph Parker. If Usyk is not going to be in the immediate future for Parker, why not make that fight? It is a high risk scenario for both fighters, but Boxing is a sport of risk, but also reward.

“And That's The Boxing Truth." 

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Moses Itauma: The Future of the Heavyweight Division?

In the sport of Boxing it seems like every few years there is a prospect in a given division that stands out amongst the rest and emerges as someone that might be viewed as the division’s future central figure. More often than not, what gets that type of buzz started is when a fighter produces a string of knockouts on their rise that naturally generates interest. This is especially true when the division in question is the Heavyweight division.

From the days of Joe Louis, to the rise of a young Mike Tyson, and so on, there is nothing quite like a Heavyweight that is on the rise who demonstrates an ability to score quick and often devastating knockouts as they climb through the ranks. While Louis and Tyson are two fighters this observer named off the top of his head, the reality is one can pick just about any era in Boxing history where one will be able to point out at least a few fighters regardless of division that fit the label of “Knockout Artist." 

In regard to the Heavyweights, the latest prospect that fits that description is the undefeated Moses Itauma. Itauma, has quickly emerged as a fighter to watch that frankly is turning heads due to his punching power and ability to get an opponent out of there quickly. After a brief amateur career where he went unbeaten, Itauma turned professional in January 2023 and went on to compile eleven victories with nine coming by way of knockout. 

This led to Itauma’s most recent fight on May 24th in Glasgow, Scotland where he faced veteran Mike Balogun in a scheduled ten round bout with the WBO’s regional Intercontinental and the WBA’s International Heavyweight titles on the line. While the titles are footnotes, in reality, they do serve a vital role in terms of elevating fighters into the world rankings with the obvious goal of getting into position to challenge for a world championship. More important than two regional titles being at stake, this fight represented what appeared to be a step up for Itauma in terms of caliber of opponent as Mike Balogun came into the fight with a record of 21-1, with 16 Knockouts and had more experience than Itauma, though recent opponents have had similar records as Balogun, which serves as an indication that Itauma is definitely being groomed as a potential world title challenger in the not too distant future.

While the expectation of at least some when a fighter with an experience edge over a fighter who has risen quickly, is to see if that fighter will be able to draw upon that experience to provide a test, it is also interesting to see how the fast rising fighter will approach the opponent knowing that they carry more experience. In this case, Itauma’s approach in this fight was in a word “Surgical." 

Boxing out of the southpaw stance, Itauma quickly got his right jab going before quickly flooring Balogun with a flush left hook to the head. To his credit, Balogun got up from the knockdown and attempted to bring the fight to Itauma, but the difference in punching power was evident as Balogun was unable to land anything to discourage Itauma from coming forward, but did manage to make it out of the first round, which three of Itauma’s last five opponents were unable to do. 

This accomplishment, however, would not deter Itauma as he immediately dropped Balogun for the second time seconds into round two hard on the canvas courtesy of another left hook to the jaw. Despite the appearance and sound of a knockout courtesy of a human body falling hard on the canvas, Balogun showed his determination by getting up at the count of nine. As he had done following the first knockdown, Balogun tried to fight back, but his courage would not be enough as Itauma zeroed in and sent Balogun down hard for a third time, this time with a right hook, prompting a stoppage of the bout just forty-six seconds into the second round.

When this observer uses the term “Surgical" in describing Itauma, I not only mean in the way he approached his opponent here, but also the surgical precision, in which he strategically placed his punches and maintained his composure. Sometimes when a fighter is blessed with the type of punching power that can end fights quickly, there can be a tendency to be a bit over aggressive in trying to finish an opponent following a knockdown, which in turn depending on how hurt the opponent is and their skillset, could present an opportunity to catch the fighter with a counter punch that do not see. The poise Itauma showed was of a fighter with more experience than his twelve fights would indicate.

It is that limited resume, however, that has produced what could turn out to be a conundrum for his team and his Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren in that though with only twelve fights Itauma is just at the point where most fighters are approaching prospect status on the verge of trying to break into the top fifteen or top ten in terms of the world rankings, per his holding regional titles in both the WBO and WBA, Moses Itauma is already rated in the top three of both sanctioning organizations, despite only having one name of significance on his record thus far in the form of former world title challenger Mariusz Wach, who was many years removed from being among the top contenders in the Heavyweight division at the time that Itauma fought him and stopped him in two rounds in July of last year. 

Although it is not uncommon for fighters on the way up to be pitted against fighters, who have some name recognition, but who's competitive best days are behind them, Wach, who is to date the most experienced opponent Itauma has fought, offered no resistance. The criticism therein, as has been the case for countless fighters who have ascended up the ranks without facing a top contender to get into that position, is whether politics that be in the sport could be at play could have influenced said ranking.

Is Moses Itauma the future of the Heavyweight division? For the moment one cannot and should not attempt to answer that question if they are objective. The reason for that is there are unanswered questions that will need to be answered. One, how will Itauma respond to adversity under such scenarios like what might happen if he is hurt or knocked down by an opponent, or how he will respond if someone is able to take his best power shots and keep coming forward without going down. Something else one should keep in mind is Itauma has only been extended as far as six rounds twice in his career up to this point and as he is now on a level where he is competing in fights that are scheduled for ten rounds, with an eye towards competing for a world title where the distance is twelve rounds, it is only a matter of when he will be extended further and what opponent will be able to take him into the deeper waters of a fight before we might get some clarity. 

What could be both good and bad news depending on one's perspective is with his ranking being so high in two of the five major world sanctioning organizations, it will likely not take long before we start getting that clarity. For the moment, however. Moses Itauma is on the short list of potential future central figures of the Heavyweight division and it may be a question of how long does his team and his promoter want to give him to get more polish and refinement before taking a gamble by trying to get him in a world championship fight. If Itauma takes on this pace and continues to win, it would not surprise yours truly to see him challenging for a world championship within the next twelve months, where most likely he will still be under twenty professional fights in his career.

“And That's The Boxing Truth." 

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