By Steven Cummings
Unbeaten heavyweight phenom Moses Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) continued to impress with a TKO5 over veteran Jermaine Franklin Jr. (24-2, 15 KOs) on Saturday night. Itauma, ranked #1 by the WBA and the WBO, scored a knockdown in round three before freezing Franklin in round five. Official time of the stoppage was 1:33.
The heavyweight bout topped an 11-bout card broadcast live by DAZN.
Itauma has drawn Mike Tyson comparisons and has shot to the top of the two organizations’ ratings by outclassing his opponents so far. Saturday night was more of the same, as he stopped Franklin, who had never been stopped before. The southpaw from the UK showed dazzling hand speed, deadly accuracy and punishing power with both hands.
Franklin came to fight. The Michigan native rose quickly from the third-round knockdown and continued to launch his own big shots. But the one-shot bomb that ended the fight separated him from his senses in the middle of the ring and referee Steve Gray waved it off immediately as Franklin went down in a heap.
It’s still early for the 21-year old Itauma, but it’s starting to get serious. 14 fights into his young career, he had Dillian Whyte and Jermaine Franklin Jr. on his victims list. With the top of the heavyweight division getting up in age, timing could be everything for Moses Itauma.
