Moses Itauma makes his in-ring debut for 2026 today in England, facing American heavyweight veteran Jermaine Franklin in the main event.
The top heavyweight prospect Itauma (13-0, 11 KO) will be fighting for the first time since last August, when he laid waste to former title challenger Dillian Whyte in two minutes. Franklin (24-2, 15 KO) has been plenty durable in his career, having never been knocked out, including distance fights in defeat against Whyte and Anthony Joshua. He’s coming off of a good win over Ivan Dychko in September of last year.
We’ll be here with live updates, results, and conversation down in the comments section. Join us to kick off a big day and night of boxing!
Itauma vs Franklin live results
- Moses Itauma def. Jermaine Franklin by TKO-5. An absolutely sensational performance and devastating finish, as the 21-year-old Itauma improves to 14-0 (12 KO) with a highlight reel knockout. Franklin 24-3 (15 KO) was out on his feet from a left uppercut before the follow-up punch even landed and put him face-down on the canvas. Franklin, 32, had never been stopped in his pro career; he was here to go rounds, and he went more than anyone else has, but the speed and skill of Itauma was just way too much from the start. Franklin gave this a sincere, professional effort, and Itauma blew him out of the ring. The young man is truly impressive. This looks like the future of the heavyweight division, maybe the future of boxing.
- Gerome Warburton def. Nathan Heaney by UD-10. Judges had it 97-93, 97-93, and 98-92 for Warburton, Bad Left Hook unofficially had it a bit closer at 96-94, but Warburton (17-2-2, 2 KO) earned the win, even if he’s not the most exciting guy to watch. The 36-year-old Heaney (19-2-1, 6 KO) and his very vocal fans were disappointed by the outcome and will argue it, but it’s hard to reason a Heaney victory here. He’s a very likable fighter, works hard, but I think at his age and at this point, he lacks the gas he had when he beat the likes of Jack Flatley and Denzel Bentley, and went those hard 24 rounds with Brad Pauls. It’s just that little extra tick he can’t hit anymore.
- Willy Hutchinson def. Ezra Taylor by UD-10. Another first loss, as Taylor drops to 13-1 (9 KO), with Hutchinson (20-2, 14 KO) proving a bit too much of a step up. Judges scored it 98-92, 98-92, and 99-91, and Bad Left Hook unofficially had it 97-93 for Hutchinson, too. I thought even if you gave Taylor every round you COULD have, it still didn’t amount to more than four, this was a clean and clear Hutchinson win, and a very good performance from the 27-year-old, who really is kind of a sneaky fringe contender at 175, he’s won three of four and beaten Craig Richards, Mark Jeffers, and now Taylor, with his loss coming to Joshua Buatsi in that stretch. And at 27, there is still time for him to get another run at world level.
- Brad Pauls def. Shakiel Thompson by TKO-9. Big win for Pauls (21-2-1, 12 KO), who dropped Thompson (15-1, 11 KO) twice in the ninth round to earn the stoppage, right when the DAZN team — and plenty of people — thought he was starting to look tired. A good fight, and to this point this has been a very entertaining show. Thompson took a real test, he came up short, at 28 he’s got time to bounce back. Pauls is right in the IBF mix with this win, as it nets him their minor “International” title, and there was talk of Thompson fighting an eliminator soon should he win here, which may or may not move to Pauls getting that opportunity.
- Liam Davies def. Francesco Grandelli by RTD-6. Davies (18-1, 9 KO) wins the vacant European featherweight title, with Italy’s Grandelli (21-5-2, 6 KO) failing for a third time to win the same belt. This time, Grandelli’s corner retired after six rounds of a beating. Davies is now a two-weight European champ, having previously claimed the EBU belt at 122 lbs. It was a pretty dominant showing for Davies, who was just a lot better than the game but over-matched Grandelli.
- Josh Holmes def. Alex Murphy by TKO-1. Insane fight! Well, insane final minute or so, but all the same. Murphy (14-3, 0 KO) had staggered Holmes, but then Holmes (18-0, 7 KO) roared back to drop Murphy, who looked like he’d be saved by the bell. But no — Holmes put him down again, heavier, and Murphy was technically counted out at 3:09 of round one, because he was clearly in no condition to continue, even counting that it would have been round over. It was the right call from referee Howard Foster, and a heck of a big card breakthrough for the 30-year-old Holmes, a lightweight.
- Michael Gomez Jr def. Jordan Flynn by TKO-3. Gomez (22-2, 7 KO) forced the referee’s hand, just landed too many clean shots without anything much coming back from Flynn (13-2-1, 2 KO). Gomez bounces back 13.5 months after his loss to Reece Bellotti and looked good at 135, he’s in the domestic title mix.
How to watch Itauma vs Franklin
- Start time: 1:00 pm ET (main card) / 11:00 am ET (prelims)
- Main event ring walks: approx. 6:00 pm ET
- Streaming: DAZN (subscription)
- Location: Co-op Live, Manchester, England
Itauma vs Franklin main card running order
- Michael Gomez Jr vs Jordan Flynn, lightweights, 10 rounds
- Alex Murphy vs Josh Holmes, lightweights, 10 rounds
- Liam Davies vs Francesco Grandelli, featherweights, 12 rounds, for vacant European title
- Shakiel Thompson vs Brad Pauls, middleweights, 10 rounds
- Willy Hutchinson vs Ezra Taylor, light heavyweights, 10 rounds
- Nathan Heaney vs Gerome Warburton, middleweights, 10 rounds
- Moses Itauma vs Jermaine Franklin, heavyweights, 10 rounds
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