Moses Itauma vs Jermaine Franklin: Murat Gassiev eyes potential fight but fears Franklin could upset the rising star
Murat Gassiev holds a secondary WBA title belt and with Moses Itauma the No 1 ranked heavyweight behind him in the sanctioning body's ratings, the two could box down the line; But Gassiev fears the rising heavyweight star could lose to Jermaine Franklin this weekend
Wednesday 25 March 2026 06:31, UK
Murat Gassiev remains open to discussing a WBA title fight against Moses Itauma if the red-hot British heavyweight contender preserves his unbeaten record this weekend.
Gassiev holds the WBA regular title, a secondary belt to the WBA 'Super' championship Oleksandr Usyk holds.
With Itauma ranked No 1 in the WBA ratings behind Gassiev, the two heavyweights could be matched against one another.
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But he's not sure if Itauma will be next for him. "I don't know, maybe," Gassiev told Sky Sports. "He has a fight against [Jermaine] Franklin.
"We'll see what happens after this fight and when this fight is finished we can speak about [what] next."
He thinks American contender Franklin could upset Itauma's future plans when they box on Saturday in Manchester.
"It's the heavyweight division, big guys, good punchers, good power and I don't know what'll happen. Itauma has a chance, Franklin has a chance. I can't see the future. I think who's training better will win," Gassiev said.
"I don't know what will happen in the fight. Itauma's a young fighter, talented, strong, fast, Itauma's very good. Franklin's a very good fighter. I don't know… He's not an easy opponent for him."
Gassiev expects to box next in the summer. "I'm just training," he said. "We have a plan to fight in the middle of the summer, like July and we're working for this right now.
"Right now a lot of top fighters have fights and after their fights we'll see, see what plans and what next."
Makhmudov 'very, very hard fight' for Fury
Itauma losing to Franklin would be a surprise, as would Aslanbek Makhmudov beating Tyson Fury when they fight on April 11 at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
But Gassiev believes both shocks are possibilities. Fury is his "favourite fighter" but Gassiev warned: "It's not an easy fight for Tyson and a good chance for Makhmudov to make some upset. He can take this chance. He's a very, very hard fight for Tyson.
"Tyson is Tyson, you never know," he added. "It's very important how he's training. Discipline, staying in training. If his training is serious, it's a good fight.
"But we'll see."
