Jermaine Franklin back on UK soil ahead of Moses Itauma clash

The American is out to produce one of the biggest heavyweight shocks on British soil.

Jermaine Franklin is gearing up to face Moses Itauma on March 28 at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.

The rivals were originally meant to clash on January 24, but Itauma was injured during his training camp.

During a conversation with The Ring Magazine, Franklin explained how it felt when the bout was rescheduled.

He said: “We were deep in camp when I got the call.

“I was pretty close to being done.

“So the situation annoyed me because I’d spent money to be out here for that camp.

“But this is boxing and stuff like this happens all the time, you’ve just got to be prepared.”

The last-minute change resulted in Jermaine Franklin flying back to his home in Michigan for a short break before returning to Luton to resume training.

The 32-year-old continued: “We didn’t want too much downtime.

“But it was important to have a quick break so we didn’t just feel like we rolled straight back in again.

“I had a little bit of downtime and went back home for a while, but you don’t want too much time off at that point. You want to keep your body physically strong and ready.

“So I had like a week off at most, and then we were right back at it.

“So far, I’ve been back in Luton for about a month and a half.

“We were already here for the first fight, too, so I’ve been here a long time in total.”

As previously reported by Boxing King Media, Franklin is using Don Charles’ gym facilities in Borehamwood.

Franklin is currently riding a three-fight winning streak after suffering a loss to two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in 2023.

The American is certainly out to cause an upset as the first fighter to hand Itauma a defeat.

Meanwhile, this will be Itauma’s first appearance since his dominant knockout victory over Dillian Whyte, which he secured in under two minutes last August.

It’s also a chance for the rising star to extend his perfect record on the pro scene.

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