Moses Itauma believes Jermaine Franklin is the “final piece of the puzzle” as he looks to rubberstamp his readiness for the world’s elite heavyweights.
Itauma’s rapid rise in boxing’s blue riband division has seen him touted for a world title fight against Oleksandr Usyk or Fabio Wardley despite being only 21 and having just 13 fights under his belt.
The Briton mercilessly stopped former world title challenger Dillian Whyte inside two minutes in Riyadh in August last year, while none of his most recent nine bouts have reached the end of the second round.
But Franklin has never been stopped in his 26-fight career, with his only two losses points defeats to Whyte and Anthony Joshua, so Itauma hopes the durable American can provide something of an acid test.
“There’s still question marks for myself,” Itauma said of their headline showdown at the Co-op Live, Manchester on Saturday.
“There’s questions that my team want to know about me, there’s questions that I want to know about myself and I’m sure there’s a lot of questions that the fans want to know about me as well.
“People are wondering if I’ve got a chin or if I can go the distance. Jermaine Franklin is known for taking people the distance and giving them tough fights. I feel like this is the final piece of the puzzle.
“I have a serious opponent in Jermaine Franklin. We’ve asked for this fight for about a year-and-a-half.”
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Usyk last October ruled out a bout against Itauma and the two-time undisputed world heavyweight champion will instead take on former kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven in May at the Pyramids of Giza.
Wardley, meanwhile, will defend his WBO title against fellow Briton Daniel Dubois in May, but Itauma insisted he is not dismissing the threat of Franklin, an opponent who is 11 years his senior.
“I’ve not overlooked him,” Itauma added. “I know are a lot of people are expecting me to do X, Y and Z – I don’t pay attention to that. It doesn’t do me any favours.
“This is a serious fight, he’s got 15 KOs on his record and he’s 32 years old, this isn’t a washed up has-been. At 32, he’s coming to the peak or at his peak right now.
“When I get asked about other fighters, that’s not going to happen if I don’t get through Jermaine Franklin.”
Franklin has won his last three bouts since dropping a wide unanimous decision to Joshua three years ago and the Michigan fighter claimed he has been unfairly overlooked in the build-up to this contest.
“I feel disrespected but it’s part of the game,” Franklin said. “I’m used to the politics, I’m used to the tricks everybody does and I’m just ready to fight.
“People are going to feel how they feel. I know what I can do so I’m not too much worried about how people feel or their opinions.”
