Franklin (24-2, 15 KOs) will face Britain's rising heavyweight star at Co-op Live Arena in the main event of this Queensberry show live on DAZN.

It will be the 32-year-old’s third outing in Britain following his back-to-back defeats to Dillian Whyte and then Anthony Joshua over a six month spell across 2022 and 2023.

He lost by majority decision to Whyte in November 2022 and then unanimously to "AJ" the following April but Franklin believed the judges got it wrong both times.

Now three years on, Franklin does not expect to be treated fairly by the judges when he faces a different Brit.

“I’m just ready to go,” he told The Ring. “But I’m not expecting to get a fair shake to be honest. I’m not expecting anything fair but this is boxing. You’ve got to just deal with the punches coming at you.

“It just means in order to win I have to knock him out or beat him in a great fashion and make a statement.”

So far, nobody has been able to get close to Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs), who has knocked out his last nine opponents inside the opening two rounds.

The 21-year-old, The Ring’s No. 7-rated heavyweight, has been tipped as the division’s next dominant force.

He currently sits at No. 1 with the WBA and WBO, No. 3 with the WBC and No. 11 with the IBF which means he may box for a world title before the year is out.

When asked whether that would be too soon for the young southpaw, Franklin said: “Really that’s a question for Queensberry.


“In boxing, a lot of people get rushed before they're ready but he got a big win over Dillian Whyte in his last fight so I guess they feel like he's ready for the rest of the world.

“For me, I really just think about the fight itself, I don't really think too much about the extras. I just focus on him as a fighter right now and what I have to do to beat him.”

Whyte lasted just 119 seconds when he faced Itauma in August while Mike Balogun made it out of the first round of their clash only to fall within a minute of the second.

Demsey McKean, who fought Itauma in December 2024, had been expected to extend Itauma a few rounds but he was taken out inside two minutes at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena.

The durable Franklin, who has never been stopped and has done the distance in 12 of his 24 fights, has been brought in to try and provide Itauma with rounds. So what fight is he expecting from the Slovakia-born ace?

“Any type,” he said. “And I’m ready for any type.

“If we want to box, we can box. If we’ve got to brawl, we are going to be able to brawl. Maybe he will box more than he has in previous fights because I'm slicker than most of those guys he fought.

“So you won't have the same fight if you just try to bully me or rush me, it won't be the same thing.

“I feel like game plan wise, they're going to come in a little more prepared than just trying to knock me out quickly.”