The ludicrously talented 20-year-old from Chatham in Kent has taken the sport’s marquee division by storm, in a way not seen since a young Mike Tyson terrorised opponents back in the 1980s.
Itauma’s hopes of beating Tyson’s record as the youngest ever world heavyweight champion may be gone now, but he is well on course to one day reaching the top of the mountain.
In August in Riyadh, Itauma was utterly devastating in destroying former world title challenger Dillian Whyte inside a single round. It was stunning stuff as the man they call ‘Enriko’ once again displayed a potent mix of incredible speed and power.
Throw in a remarkable ring IQ for one so young, and it appears Itauma is the real deal – no wonder he is already ranked at #1 by the WBO (World Boxing Organization).
It says much for Itauma’s reputation that he is already being spoken off as a possible opponent for the current undisputed heavyweight king, the peerless Oleksandr Usyk.
For now, the Queensberry Promotions standout must bide his time, further hone his craft and get more rounds under his belt. At least that is the dream, the problem is nobody can hang with him for long…
Itauma vs Franklin odds and analysis
Itauma is now 13-0 as a professional, with 11 of those wins coming inside two rounds. It is nearly always highlight-reel stuff, and it has the boxing purists drooling. So what shot does Franklin have of ruining the grand plan?
If you believe the oddsmakers, absolutely no chance – the early Sky Bet line has Itauma as a prohibitive 1/20 favourite with Franklin a 9/1 outsider. You would think the 32-year-old American was a club fighter.
Franklin (24-2 with 15 wins inside distance) has a relatively underwhelming resume at the very highest level – apart from two nights that is. He owes his reputation largely to back-to-back outings against Whyte and fellow Brit Anthony Joshua in 2022 and 2023.
First in November 2022, Franklin gave Whyte all he could handle before only dropping a majority decision to ‘The Body Snatcher’ at Wembley Arena.
That performance was enough to earn the man from Saginaw, Michigan a showdown with Joshua at the O2 Arena some five months later. The showing against Whyte had given him enough credibility to sell as an AJ opponent, but maybe not enough to pose a real threat.
Once again Franklin would go the full 12 rounds, dropping a unanimous decision to a Joshua who was starting to find his way back after the second of back-to-back losses against the mighty Usyk.
Since that night Franklin has fought only three times – the most recent being a points victory over Ivan Dychko on the Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford undercard in Vegas in September.
As the odds suggest, this should be another win for Itauma, the big question is whether Franklin will be good enough to give him the rounds and the experience he so craves.
The art of matchmaking is choosing the right opponent at the right time, and so far Frank Warren and his Queensberry team have aced their task with the precious talent that is Itauma. We will find out on January 24 whether they have it right once again.
The world heavyweight title picture
The world heavyweight title picture as ever is a complex one, but Itauma’s route to a shot could be a short one right now with the brilliant Usyk currently holding all of the belts.
With Itauma ranked at #1 by the WBO, he is only one step away from being the mandatory contender to the title held by Usyk. A position currently held by the big-punching Fabio Wardley following his recent stoppage win over Joseph Parker.
The clamour for Usyk vs Itauma will only grow should the now 38-year-old Ukrainian genius stick around for long before finally calling time on his glorious career.
In the immediate aftermath of Usyk’s demolition job on Daniel Dubois at Wembley in July, Saudi Arabia’s boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh summed up the feelings of many fight fans right now.
“I want to see Usyk against Itauma. This is the fight.”
What a fight it would be…
