Moses Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs), on Saturday, cemented his status as the most feared heavyweight prospect on the planet after stopping the durable Jermaine Franklin (24-3, 15 KOs) in the fifth round after controlling the fight from the opening bell with far faster hands and cleaner power shots, reports globalboxingnews.co.uk.

The finish came from a short sequence, the 21-year-old Brit stepping back from Franklin when covering up and dipping his head down to make room for a left uppercut that snapped the American’s head back and stunned him enough to send him on his way down, but Moses managed to land another right hand to finish him off.

Referee Steve Gray was very quick to jump in and wave off the fight. The official tried to stop the last right hand from landing, but was a split-second too late.

The victory is the most significant of Itauma’s young career so far as the 32-year-old Franklin was already well known on these shores for his brace of bouts with Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua taking both Brits the distance over 12 rounds. The Michigan man scored a draw with Whyte on one card in 2022, then took three rounds from AJ in 2023.

The “989 Assassin” had won all three fights since those defeats, decisioning two unbeaten heavyweights. The heavyweight was brought over to Britain solely to give Itauma the rounds he needed, after stopping his last nine opponents in rounds one and two.

Itauma has now stopped 12 of his 14 professional opponents to boast a 85 per cent KO ratio and find himself ranked number one by both the WBO and WBA in the heavyweight division.

The one-sided, confident performance silenced those who had questioned whether Itauma could handle pressure rounds. Franklin brought movement, durability, and ring craft, yet was systematically broken down in short time by a fantastic fighter who is still only beginning to fulfil his limitless potential.