Itauma’s Promoter Eyes Wallin or Franklin Fight

Moses Itauma’s promoter, Francis Warren, says he’s interested in Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs) possibly fighting Otto Wallin or Jermaine Franklin next, following his second-round technical knockout of Mike Balogun last Saturday night in Glasgow, Scotland.

Itauma’s Next Fight Options

Wallin has lost two out of his last four fights and is coming off a defeat against 41-year-old journeyman Derek Chisora. Most fans would agree that Wallin would be a poor option for Itauma to fight if the idea is to develop him and give him rounds. I have doubts whether that would be the purpose of Itauma’s management in making that fight. Choosing Wallin, 34, would make Itauma look good.

Francis also says they want a “top 10” opponent for Itauma in a heavyweight eliminator. Using Wallin or Jermaine Franklin wouldn’t work if they go that route. Neither of those journeymen is ranked in the top 10 by any of the four sanctioning bodies, and Franklin isn’t ranked in the top 15.

It’s not ideal for Itauma to go the easy route to become mandatory for the winner of the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois fight. The 20-year-old Itauma isn’t being developed with the weak matchmaking continually being done for him. That’s the criticism boxing fans have about Itauma.

Creating a Fake Star

Itauma looks like he’s being created to appear better than he is. The opposition shoveled into the ring for Moses to fight suggests he’s being manufactured to be a fake star.

The problem with those types of fighters is that they need to be protected throughout their careers to keep them from losing. We just saw another fake, Tyson Fury, get repeatedly beaten when he finally stepped up for the first time late in his career against his first quality fighter, Oleksandr Usyk.

For Itauma to be developed in a real way, he should be fighting these fighters for the next two or three years:

– Joseph Parker
– Agit Kabayel
– Zhilei Zhang
– Bakhodir Jalolov
– Richard Torrez Jr.
– Efe Ajagba
– Filip Hrgovic
– Fabio Wardley
– Martin Bakole

It doesn’t appear that Moses Itauma’s management is interested in matching him against any of these fighters except for the woefully poorly conditioned 300-lb Bakole. I doubt that Itauma would beat even half of the above fighters because he gets hit, and he looked vulnerable against the former NFL player Mike Balogun last night.

Matchmaking: Smoke & Mirrors

“We want to fight someone in the top 10, and that would be an eliminator. I’m pretty sure we’d be able to do that,” said promoter Francis Warren to BoxNation about Moses Itauma’s next fight. “I think Otto Wallin would be a great fight for him next.”

Wallin would be a terrible choice because he can’t punch, coming off a defeat to Chisora, and wouldn’t likely give Itauma rounds. Otto was knocked out in five rounds by Anthony Joshua in 2023. He was dropped twice by the washed Chisora last February. That tells you all you need to know about why Wallin would be selected for Itauma’s next opponent. He’s an easy mark and wouldn’t be any threat to exposing the 20-year-old Moses.

“Otto has proven himself to be a very durable, tough opponent, who has garnered respect from the boxing community because of the work he’s done against Tyson [Fury], Anthony [Joshua],” said Francis. “He gave Derek [Chisora] a great fight, and for Moses, who wants to get some rounds in, that’s probably a great challenge. Jermaine Franklin is another one that I particularly like the look of. By the end of the year, we’ll be looking to step it up considerably.”

Franklin has lost two out of his last four fights and isn’t ranked. Itauma’s management should be aiming higher than him and Wallin. Again, they should focus on matching Itauma against fighters like Kabayel, Torrez Jr, Jalolov, Dubois, Ajagba, and Wardley. If Itauma loses to those guys, his promoters can focus on developing him more. Thus far, there’s zero development being done. He’s being fed tomato cans to make him look great, but it’s apparent that it’s smoke & mirrors.

Bakole: Not Itauma’s Level

“We get #1 with the WBO,” said Francis about Itauma being moved to #1 by the World Boxing Organization. “He’s top #3 with the WBA. So, we’re sitting pretty with two of the organizations, and I think it’s up to us when we want to pull the trigger to put our hands up to move to that next stage.”

Surprisingly, Itauma has been elevated to #1 with the WBO after being a non-top 15 ranked fighter, Balogun. How is that done? Itauma has yet to fight a contender, and he arguably shouldn’t be ranked in the top tier, given the poor opposition he’s mowed down. Itauma is being matched like Edgar Berlanga was when Top Rank promoted him. They fed him 16 stiffs at the start of his career, allowing him to create a 16-0 record with 16 knockouts. When he stepped up against journeymen, he began struggling and soon left the company. Itauma is being moved just like him.

“To pick Martin Bakole is a big mistake. Even Frank [Warren] knows I’m not his level,” said Martin Bakole to talkSport Boxing, making it clear that he views Moses Itauma as beneath his level that he’s operating at. “I’m looking forward to fighting for the world title. If he wants to fight me, I don’t know why I would fight him. For what?”