Moses Itauma Becomes the First Man to Stop Jermaine Franklin With a Vicious Fifth-Round Knockout in Manchester
The heavyweight division has a new name demanding attention, and he’s only 21 years old. Moses Itauma demolished Jermaine Franklin with a savage fifth-round knockout Saturday at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, becoming the first fighter to ever stop the durable American inside the distance.
Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) extended his knockout streak to 10 consecutive fights and did something that Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte couldn’t manage — he took Franklin out. Both Joshua and Whyte went the full distance with Franklin in 2022 and 2023, winning by decision but never finding the finishing blow against a fighter widely regarded as one of the toughest chins in the heavyweight division. Itauma found it. Twice, actually.
The first sign of trouble for Franklin came in the third round when Itauma drilled him with a powerful right hand to the temple that sent the American to the canvas. Franklin (24-3, 15 KOs) showed the heart that’s made him a respected gatekeeper at heavyweight — he got up and survived the round. But the damage was done, and Itauma’s speed and power had been fully established.
Itauma went to the body in the middle rounds, setting up what was coming. The finishing sequence in the fifth was clinical. Itauma uncorked a punishing left uppercut that caught Franklin flush, and the American collapsed face-first to the canvas. There was no getting up this time. The referee waved it off, and the Co-op Live Arena — packed with 15,000 fans — erupted.
For Itauma, this was the performance that separates prospect from contender. His last outing was a first-round demolition of Dillian Whyte in August 2025 — a fight that was supposed to be a significant step up but lasted less than two minutes. Critics pointed out that Whyte was faded. Franklin, despite his losses to Joshua and Whyte on points, had never been stopped in 26 professional fights. He’d rebuilt with three straight wins, including a solid decision over previously unbeaten Ivan Dychko. He was the kind of opponent who was supposed to give Itauma rounds and test his patience.
Instead, Itauma treated him like a heavy bag with legs. The British southpaw’s combination of hand speed, footwork, and finishing instinct made the experience gap irrelevant. Franklin tried to use his weight advantage — he came in at 258 pounds to Itauma’s 242 — but the younger man was simply faster to the punch and more accurate with everything he threw.
What makes Itauma so frightening isn’t just the power — it’s the rapidly improving ring IQ behind it. At 21, he’s destroying experienced heavyweights with the kind of violence that makes you sit up in your chair, but he’s doing it with technical precision, not just brute force. The knockout power is obvious in both hands, but the setups are getting better fight by fight.
The question now is what comes next. Promoter Frank Warren was non-committal after the fight but indicated Itauma would be targeting a world title shot before 2026 is over. Itauma is currently ranked number one by the WBO, putting him in direct line for a shot at the winner of Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker, with Dubois holding the IBF belt. Itauma himself has expressed interest in fighting Filip Hrgovic, and there’s been talk of a potential all-British blockbuster against Dubois at Wembley Stadium.
The heavyweight division is in a strange place right now. Oleksandr Usyk still holds the unified titles, Tyson Fury is scheduled to fight Ilia Makhudov on April 11, and the IBF belt is with Dubois. But the future belongs to fighters like Itauma, and Saturday’s knockout was the kind of performance that accelerates a timeline. When a 21-year-old is stopping guys that former champions couldn’t, the division has to take notice.
The comparisons to a young Mike Tyson keep getting louder, and while those parallels are always dangerous in boxing history, Itauma isn’t doing anything to quiet them. Tyson at 21 was already champion, having demolished Trevor Berbick for the WBC belt at age 20. Itauma’s path has been more methodical — he turned professional at 17 and has been carefully developed by trainer Ben Davison — but the ending of his fights looks eerily similar. Quick, violent, and final.
Itauma’s style isn’t just about power, though. He showed patience against Franklin, going to the body in the middle rounds to set up the finish. He recognized that Franklin’s chin was going to require sustained work rather than a single shot. That kind of adaptability at 21 is what separates the truly special fighters from the one-dimensional punchers who flame out against elite opposition.
Franklin deserves credit for his toughness — he came to fight, he took Itauma’s best shots in the early rounds, and he was competitive until the power became too much. But this was Itauma’s night, and the message was clear: the heavyweight division’s next big thing is ready to stop being patient.
