MOSES ITAUMA has been forced out of his January 24 fight against Jermaine Franklin due to injury – with a postponed date confirmed.
Itauma was due to return for his 14th fight – having knocked out Dillian Whyte in round one of their Saudi Arabia headliner in August.
And Franklin – who took Anthony Joshua and Whyte the distance in points losses – was in place to try and give the 20-year-old prodigy valuable rounds.
But the bout will have to wait a month – Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions announced.
A statement read: “Moses Itauma has sustained an injury in camp for his fight with Jermaine Franklin on 24th January.
“Due to this, the whole Magnificent 7 show has been postponed and moved to the new date of 28 March at the Co-Op Live in Manchester.”
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Itauma debuted in 2023 aged 18 already drawing comparisons to Mike Tyson – who at 20 became the youngest heavyweight world champion of all time.
The Londoner was unable to break the record but will now eyes Prince Naseem Hamed’s record of youngest British world champ – set at 21.
Itauma has only gone as far as the sixth round and has finished his last nine opponents inside two.
But he said of Franklin: “I actually think it’s a test of opposition. I actually think it might be my toughest fight.
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“The reason why I say that is because what he does very well, there’s still question marks [about me].
“Whereas with Whyte, there’s a lot of things to exploit in his game. Demsey McKean – to be honest – although he went 12 rounds with Filip Hrgovic, I personally didn’t think that he was great.
“But I actually do feel like Franklin’s a solid fighter so I’m ready for him.”
