Anyone hoping to see Oleksandr Usyk share the ring with Moses Itauma was left bitterly disappointed this past week after unified champion Usyk doubled down on his refusal to face the rising heavyweight star.
Boxing is no stranger to passing-of-the-torch matchups. Floyd Mayweather Jr., who was pound-for-pound No. 1 as well as the biggest commercial attraction in the 2010s, shared the ring with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in 2013 when it became apparent that Alvarez would be the next big star for years to come.
Advertisement
Within the boxing community, it was hoped that Usyk — one of the greatest fighters of this generation — would do the same and welcome a test against the 21-year-old heavyweight who many believe is the division’s best prospect since Mike Tyson’s rapid rise up the ranks in the 1980s.
But, to the disappointment of some, it appears that a Usyk vs. Itauma clash will forever remain a fantasy fight for boxing historians to ponder over.
“Probably not,” Itauma admitted bluntly on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” when asked if the fight will ever happen. “But what are we going to do? We don’t cry over spilled milk. We just keep it stepping.
“Listen, Usyk’s a once-in-a-generation fighter and I’d love to have the opportunity, but if I don’t, what am I supposed to do? Pull him out of his grave? Know what I mean? If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
Usyk, 39, will instead face kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven at the iconic Pyramids of Giza in Egypt on May 23. The matchup has drawn its fair share of criticism, and that only intensified when the WBC decided its heavyweight title could be on the line for Usyk’s date with a boxing novice.
Advertisement
“Usyk, he can do whatever he wants,” Itauma said of the Verhoeven fight. “He’s earned that right. But, see, I don’t like to use the word fair — but I don’t think [Verhoeven] should be allowed to fight for the [WBC] world title. Obviously, Usyk has earned the right to do whatever he wants, but I don’t think it’s correct for Rico to be able to fight for the world title in his first fight. That’s just a bit crazy.”
When Tyson Fury fought former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in 2023, Fury’s WBC title was not on the line because of Ngannou’s lack of professional boxing experience. Verhoeven has just one boxing match to his name — a six-round fight with a 0-5 record opponent from more than 12 years ago — yet the same sanctioning body has bizarrely chosen to approve the fight for its world title.
Fury makes his return to the ring next month against Arslanbek Makhmudov in London. Itauma may be the future of British boxing, but for now, the country’s fan base wants to see nothing more than Fury and Anthony Joshua.
“I’m happy Fury’s back,” Itauma said. “Obviously, having spent time around him, I know how much boxing means to him. So not having boxing in your life — yeah, man, I think I’m happy he’s going to come back because I think he needs boxing.”
Advertisement
“Listen, it might be a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather situation where it might [be passed] the [ideal] time,” Itauma added of a potential Fury vs. Joshua fight, “but it could [still] happen. I don’t know. I don’t want to speak on shoes that I’m not in, but I feel like Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury owe it to the British public.”
Itauma, himself, returns to the ring Saturday against Jermaine Franklin at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. The bout between the pair was originally scheduled for Jan. 24 until an injury forced Itauma out.
“I was in sparring and my arm got caught behind someone else’s arm,” Itauma explained. “They pulled it toward themselves and I had a little problem in my bicep and I thought, ‘You know what? Let me just push through this.’ So, I carried on sparring.”
Advertisement
Against the advice of his promoter, Queensberry’s Frank Warren, Itauma said he chose not to get a scan and decided to continue with his training camp.
“So, next week, I went back to sparring — threw another punch and I was like, ‘Yeah, this ain’t correct.’ And then Frank Warren [said], ‘I’m not going to let you fight unless you get a scan.’ So I went to get a scan and found out I had a grade two tear in my biceps. So that was me trying to push through it when I obviously had a tear.”
Itauma will look to be the first man to stop Jermaine Franklin, who has already shared the ring with Joshua and Dillian Whyte in the past. Many thought Franklin beat Whyte in November 2022, while Joshua’s win over the American the following April was far from impressive.
[Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season]
“Do you know what? I got presented three names and none of them was Jermaine Franklin. And then my team went back to Queensberry and said, ‘What about Jermaine Franklin?’ I was like, ‘Well, Jermaine Franklin is not on the table.’ And then he was and we just kept trying to persist on Jermaine Franklin because I feel like my team believed that this was the necessary fight for my development. So we just kept going back to Jermaine Franklin. Then obviously he ended up signing and we’re ready to rock and roll.
Advertisement
“Listen, there’s bigger names, but I believe the question marks that I have on my career, the question marks that people still want to be answered, I think Jermaine Franklin can answer them. So I think it’s a perfect fight for me as of right now.”
Itauma has not been past the second round in any of his nine professional fights. The durable Franklin is seen in boxing circles as the perfect opponent to provide Itauma with the experience and ring time that he needs before progressing into championship fights.
The 21-year-old is the mandatory challenger for WBA (Regular) champion Murat Gassiev, and he could be headed for that fight in the summer should Itauma emerge victorious against Franklin in Manchester.