On Saturday night, Itauma will box for the first time since his two-minute victory over Dillian Whyte in August. The fight against Jermaine Franklin, at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena, will be his third in 15 months.

It should be noted that a significant biceps injury, sustained in sparring, forced a three-month delay to this outing which has obviously slowed his progress. Had the fight taken place in January as initially expected, we would probably be looking forward to a big summer outing by now.

 But injuries happen and that means Itauma has spent just 354 seconds inside the prize ring since the start of 2025. Of course he should not be criticized for ending his fights so quickly — with Mike Balogun vanquished after 46 seconds of the second round and Whyte crushed in 119 seconds of the first.

 There is also no shortage of hard work and education taking place in his training camps, which are all similarly arduous regardless of how quickly he does the business on fight night. But even Itauma admits there are still questions to be answered by more durable and/or dangerous opponents down the line.

The problem is, as one of the biggest stars in British boxing, he is not cheap. And, given how destructive he is once the bell goes, neither are his opponents, who require adequate compensation for getting their head punched in. That means it is simply not viable for him to box anywhere close to the regularity of other precocious heavyweights.

Take Mike Tyson for example. When he was three years into his career, which is where Itauma is now, Iron Mike was 33-0 and had made six world title defenses. He was also one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet. Boxing has changed wildly since those late '80’s nights but the difference between their trajectories is stark.



You could argue that the closest thing to Itauma across world boxing is Abdullah Mason, another gifted 21-year-old southpaw tipped for great things since his teens. He is 20-0 with 17 knockouts and won the world lightweight title in November in what was his fourth outing of 2025 and ninth in 21 months.

Crucially, although his numbers don’t quite stack up, Itauma is reasonably relaxed about the situation. “It’s easy to say, ‘I wish I could have done this’ or whatever,” he says.

“Having 13 fights and having Dillian Whyte, Demsey McKean and Mariusz Wach on your record, I think that’s not bad for somebody that’s been professional three years.

 “Last year obviously I only had two fights. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing or a good thing. I could have had four fights against four opponents that weren’t worth it, but big fights take time to prepare for and organize.”

He makes a good point. Queensberry could have stuck him on a load more undercards against cheaper unknown heavyweights who would have gone the same way as Balogun and Whyte anyway. Sure it may have moved him to 20-0 or better, but what would that have achieved? Headlining against a former world title challenger in a main event will be of more value in the long run.

His handlers would argue that, these days, quality over quantity is the key for a developing heavyweight. Let’s not forget he's 21. That means if you take his current frequency of fighting, which is three times in 15 months — or once every five months — he will have fought 34 times as a professional by the time he turns 30. 

That will likely slow to twice a year at the very most once he is at world level but it would represent a reasonable return for a modern day heavyweight. Oleksandr Usyk (24) and Anthony Joshua (33), for example, are deep into their 30s and haven’t managed that number just yet.

So Itauma, his manager Francis Warren and his promoters at Queensberry all have time on their side. It is clear that the first stage of his career ended last year when he headlined for the first time, and Franklin, another main event fight, is the continuation of that. The durable Franklin is expected to dig in, make life hard for Itauma and maybe even ask him a few questions but there is every chance he gets blown away, too. “Let’s say I surpass Franklin,” Itauma adds. “It means I would have surpassed him, Whyte, Dempsey McKean and Wach. For a 21-year-old I don’t think that’s bad going.” Beyond that, as the WBA’s No. 1 contender, he may fight Murat Gassiev for their "regular" title in the summer while Daniel Dubois would be an obvious target should he beat Itauma’s gymmate Fabio Wardley for his WBO belt in May. Itauma is at No. 3 with the WBC, too, which would open the door to a fight with their interim titlist Agit Kabayel, given that full champion Oleksandr Usyk does not plan to fight the German or Itauma before he retires.

These are all very serious fights for someone who has been involved in just 26 rounds of professional boxing. But, as he will almost certainly prove, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.

After ending on the wrong side a split decision against Kevin Walsh on Saturday night in Belfast, the one and only Mick Conlan confirmed his retirement from the sport.

 Although Conlan (20-4, 10 KOs) never got his hands on the world title belt he craved, he can walk away from boxing with his head held high, safe in the knowledge that he is widely considered a modern Irish great.

 I was present at the Theater in Madison Square Garden, nine years ago this month, when he kicked off his professional career amid much fanfare with a stoppage victory over Tim Ibarra on St Patrick’s Day. It was a night notable for the presence of Conor McGregor, who would go on to box Floyd Mayweather five months later, but away from that sideshow Conlan got the ball rolling in style.

 He was one of the hottest properties in the world when he turned over after the 2016 Olympics in Rio, where he exited with a famous middle finger salute to the judges. He walked away from the unpaid code as arguably the greatest Irish amateur of all time — with five elite titles, Olympic bronze in London, Commonwealth gold in 2014, European silver and golds and, of course, the world amateur gold in 2015.

He never reached those heights as a pro, although few will ever forget his 2022 classic with Leigh Wood, when he nearly beat the champion before a chilling stoppage defeat in the final round. He picked himself up from that — and again when he had back-to-back losses to Luis Alberto Lopez and Jordan Gill — but he has decided enough is enough. From the streets of west Belfast to the world, take a bow Mick Conlan.

Although it was hard to work out exactly what they were up to, this column took great pleasure in the social media clips of Anthony Joshua and his new best pal Usyk together on their lads’ holiday in Ukraine.
 It seems certain that Joshua will return to the ring at some point this summer following the tragic death of his friends Sina and Latz in December. He linked up with Team Usyk ahead of his fight with Jake Paul and this trip to Ukraine is further proof of how close AJ has grown to the southpaw who beat him twice a few years ago. 
It’s impossible to say how that might manifest in the ring, but given how nomadic Joshua has been of late with five different coaches since his first defeat to Usyk in 2021, it is heartening to see him settled as he attempts to pen the final chapter of his career.