Moses Itauma vs Jermaine Franklin fight postponed after Itauma suffers injury in camp
Moses Itauma suffers injury in training, which forces fight with Jermaine Franklin to be postponed until March 28; after his fight with Franklin, WBA have ordered Itauma to face Kubrat Paul vs Murat Gassiev winner; Itauma also ordered to face Lawrence Okolie in WBC final eliminator
Tuesday 13 January 2026 09:57, UK
Moses Itauma's fight with Jermaine Franklin has been postponed until March 28 after the British heavyweight suffered an injury in training.
Itauma was supposed to take on former Anthony Joshua foe Franklin on January 24 at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena.
However, the 20-year-old was hurt during his training camp and so the fight has been rescheduled to March at the same venue.
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In a short statement on social media, Queensberry Promotions said: "Unfortunately Moses Itauma has sustained an injury in camp and therefore the Magnificent 7 show has been rescheduled for March 28."
The highly-regarded Itauma flattened compatriot Dillian Whyte inside the opening round in Saudi Arabia in August 2025 to extend his perfect professional record to 13 wins from as many fights, with 11 stoppages.
Meanwhile, Franklin has taken Whyte and Joshua the distance in 2022 and 2023 respectively and has never been stopped in 26 professional contests.
The WBA have ordered Itauma to fight Murat Gassiev. The Russian became the WBA 'regular' champion following a sixth-round knockout win over Kubrat Paulat.
Itauma has also been ordered to face fellow Brit Lawrence Okolie in a WBC final eliminator, and the unbeaten 20-year-old is yet to indicate his preferred option.
In September, Itauma's team said that they would take a fight with Oleksandr Usyk, even at this early stage of the young heavyweight's career.
"I would take it," Ben Davison told Sky Sports. "I would. It's a win-win. As much as Moses hasn't boxed anybody like Usyk, I don't think Usyk's boxed anybody like Moses. He would openly say that himself.
"It's something he [Itauma] would be up for. He's got the mindset: if you're taking a dive [into the deep end] you might as well take the dive. Hopefully we may end up in a world title fight."
