Following unbeaten English heavyweight Moses Itauma's (13-0, 11 KOs) one-round demolition job over veteran world title contender Dillian Whyte (37-4, 21 KOs) at the weekend, the young heavyweight has already named his next target.
Widely viewed as heavyweight boxing's next biggest star, Itauma took just two-minutes to knock out fellow Brit, Dillian Whyte, in Saudi Arabia on August 16 in the highly-regarded prospect's first-ever main event.
Despite His Excellency Turki Alalshikh immediately declaring that he wants to see Itauma take on undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk next, the humble heavyweight believes it's too soon and will look to fight an established pro with the durability to provide him with some tough rounds instead.
Signed to Frank Warren, the 20-year-old Slovakian-born southpaw, Itauma, who resides in Kent, England told Boxing News who he is targeting next, "Joseph Parker, Agit Kabayel, and Oleksandr Usyk are good names, but I know the team want me to get rounds in before I get to those names.
"The boring answer is Jermaine Franklin, only because he will get me some rounds."
Michigan's '989 Assassin' Jermaine Franklin (23-2, 15 KOs) took both Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua the distance in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Those back-to-back defeats were followed up with two successive wins in July 2023 and May 2024, but the American hasn't fought in 15 months.
Itauma's manager Francis Warren agreed with the plans, confirming, "We want one more and then a big one in December."