Moses Itauma’s team want him to bank more rounds before he jumps in at the deep end.
The precocious 20-year-old dispatched a faded Dillian Whyte in the opening stanza on Saturday night to claim the Commonwealth heavyweight title.
In the immediate aftermath, Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh declared that he wanted to see Itauma take on undisputed heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk next.
However, the Brits’ handlers are looking to go in a different direction.
“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,” he told Boxing News.
“The boring answer is Jermaine Franklin, only because he will get me some rounds.”
Jermaine Franklin has proven to be an extremely durable opponent during his 23-2 pro career.
But he has been very inactive as of late and hasn’t boxed since May 2024.
The American fought tooth and nail with Whyte during a razor-close majority decision loss in November 2022 before taking Anthony Joshua the distance six months later.
Itauma’s team will be hoping that Franklin can do the same for their man after an explosive 13-0 start to life in the paid ranks that has produced just 26 rounds.
The plan to fight Franklin aligns with what Itauma’s manager, Francis Warren, told talkSPORT post-fight.
While he wouldn’t discuss names, Warren declared: “We want one more and then a big one in December.”
Whether that ‘big one’ is Usyk is yet to be seen.
It seems far more sensible for Itauma to lock horns with a top 10-ranked heavyweight before facing the pound-for-pound No.1 boxer in the world.
No.6-ranked Filip Hrgovic scored a wide decision victory over David Adeleye on Itauma’s undercard and proved his chin was made of titanium by absorbing 13 consecutive hooks from the heavy-handed Brit.
Hrgovic, like Itauma, is represented by Queensberry Promotions and called out the winner of the main event after his latest triumph.
“Of course [I want the winner],” he told assembled media.
“It is going to be an amazing fight, and I am definitely open to any fight.”