Moses Itauma vs. Jermaine Franklin: Who has the edge heading into their fight?

The 21-year-old heavyweight phenom will see if veteran Jermaine Franklin Jr. can test his skills Saturday night when they clash at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, United Kingdom, and live on DAZN.

Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs) demolishing Whyte in August marked another eye opener for the heavyweight division as the British superstar in the making reinforced that he is a growing force to be dealt with.

He faces Franklin (24-2, 15 KOs) who has shared the ring with the likes of Whyte and Anthony Joshua. Franklin produced a unanimous decision over Ivan Dychko in September during his sole ring appearance of 2025.

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Moses Itauma is now a sparring scalp

Watch: Itauma explains what sparring is like in his training camps (0.46)

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Will Itauma use this weekend’s world stage to deliver another scintillating performance, inching his way closer to a title shot? Or will Franklin somehow pull off the sizable upset? DAZN News examines who has the edge heading into this heavyweight tilt.

Boxing Styles

Everything starts with Moses Itauma’s hand speed. The 21-year-old sensation, whether with the jab flush upstairs or stabs to the body, quickly shows disparity against opponents by beating them to the punch.

With his hand speed on another level, the 6-foot-4 southpaw feints skillfully and draws from a deep, sharp shot selection bag to overwhelm fighters. Jermaine Franklin Jr. will try to combat that style by getting inside of Itauma’s jab and slowing down the fight with methodical shots and durability.

The blistering speed that Itauma punches with, however, will be hard to overcome and it gives him a mismatch at least on paper.

Edge: Itauma

Power

Franklin has punching power with 15 of his 24 victories coming by the way of knockout. Itauma’s power, as evidenced by his near 85% KO ratio, is accentuated by his hand speed.

Take his victory over Whyte as an example. Itauma was catching Whyte at will with the jab before turning up the heat and stringing together lightning-quick combinations for the mind-numbing stoppage.

In short, his power is electric.

Edge: Itauma

Mental Warfare

During this bout's buildup, Itauma has been asked about fighting unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

There is a reason for that — his flourishing sweet science skills is matched by his unwavering confidence.

The only mental hurdle Itauma might have is overcoming recovering from a biceps tear suffered earlier in the year.

Other than that, Itauma is on a tear with soaring upward trajectory.

Edge: Itauma

Who has the edge in Itauma vs. Franklin?

If Itauma is indeed the future of the heavyweight division, boxing fans and critics alike are justified in expecting nothing short of another spectacular performance. His speed, power and precision will make it hard for Franklin to upend. It's why we are giving the edge to Itauma, 3-0. Considering Joshua and Whyte defeated Franklin in his only two losses, Itauma finishing Franklin would be a feather in the cap, bringing him closer to a possible world title opportunity. 

Watch Itauma vs. Franklin with a DAZN subscription

Knockout sensation Moses Itauma faces his toughest test against Jermaine Franklin this Saturday night, March 28. Watch exclusively with a DAZN Ultimate subscription to also get PPVs Chisora vs. Wilder (April 4), Wardley vs. Dubois (May 9), and Usyk vs Verhoeven (May 23) included.

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