Ahead of Moses Itauma’s fight with Jermaine Franklin tonight in Manchester, former world champion George Groves has weighed in on how he would fare against Tyson Fury.
Following a year out of the sport, Fury will return in April against Arslanbek Makhmudov. A win for ‘The Gypsy King’ will set up big fights in the final chapter of his career.
The 37-year-old just so happens to be coming back to the heavyweight division when a rising force is becoming increasingly hard to ignore. Itauma, who has 11 knockouts from 13 wins, is widely regarded as a future world champion, and a dominant one at that. Following an injury postponement in January, his next assignment is against Jermaine Franklin tonight in Manchester.
Speaking to Fruity King ahead of this evening’s fight, Groves looked ahead to Itauma’s future against the top dogs in the division, predicting the young star would stop Tyson Fury on current form.
“Tyson Fury in shape could probably negate Itauma for a couple of rounds, but he won’t be dangerous. Itauma’s just too fresh, too sharp, I think he’ll hurt him, possibly stop him.”
Fury, like Usyk, does not appear interested in a fight with Itauma, prioritising a fight with Anthony Joshua or even the winner of Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois.
With that in mind, it increasingly looks like Itauma will forge his own path without a statement win over the exiting heavyweights who have defined the division for so many years. He knows that is out of his control, and is focused on passing each test that is put in front of him. Next up is the durable Franklin, with a knockout victory for the Brit a real statement.
Franklin, of course, is planning a big upset at the Co-op Live to halt any talk of these future match-ups and catapult himself to the top of the division.
