MANCHESTER, England - Every promoter dreams of working with a young, explosive heavyweight but guiding them towards the top of boxing’s glamour division is never plain sailing.

Moses Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs) had been scheduled to round out his 2025 campaign on December 13 but securing a suitable, willing opponent for the dangerous 20-year-old from Chatham, Kent proved problematic.

Eventually, Queensberry secured the services of America’s Jermaine Franklin Jr (24-2, 15 KOs) and the two will box at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena on January 24.

“This is an important fight for Moses,” Itauma’s promoter, Frank Warren said at Monday’s launch press conference.

“He's a young man, 20 years of age. He'll be 21 by the time this event takes place. He’s ranked No. 1 with the WBA and the WBO after 13 bouts. No amateur experience as a senior and he's done magnificently well. He’s in now with a real seasoned campaigner in Jermaine. He’s 24-2 and those losses on his record were against a very good Dillian White and AJ and he went the distance with them. So, can Moses do what they couldn't do?

“Jermaine fancies this job. That's why he's here. This is a big moment for young Moses in his career but I believe in him and I believe he'll step up and I believe that he'll deliver.”

Over the past few years, a series of exciting, unpredictable fights have kept the heavyweights in the headlines but the division is undergoing a changing of the guard.

On Monday alone, 38-year-old unified title holder and The Ring champion, Oleksandr Usyk, announced that he had vacated his WBO title belt whilst two-time unified champion, Anthony Joshua, confirmed that he will fight Jake Paul - and fatten his retirement fund - on December 19. The Ring’s No.1-ranked fighter, Tyson Fury, of course, remains officially retired.

Fighters like newly promoted WBO champion and The Ring’s No. 2-ranked heavyweight, Fabio Wardley, and The Ring’s No. 3-ranked fighter, Agit Kabayel, now hold an increasing amount of power but it is Itauma who is widely regarded as the future of heavyweight boxing.

Every ambitious heavyweight on the planet knows they are one punch away from a life changing opportunity and none are willing to risk their position to fight somebody like Itauma without being extremely well compensated for their time.

Itauma needs to fight. The Ring’s No. 9-ranked heavyweight isn’t quite ready to be thrown in with the calibre of opponents capable of generating the revenue that would satisfy all parties and his promoters are, understandably, unwilling to be held to ransom by fighters lower down the rankings.

In the rock solid Franklin, Warren looks to have found the ideal opponent at the ideal time. The Hall of Fame promoter admits that matching Itauma has become a tricky balancing act but insists that there will be no shortcuts taken.

“It is tough but he had no senior amateur bouts and it's not a pissing contest or a 100 meter dash, it's a marathon. We’ve got to make the right moves at the right time but this fight, I think, is a fight where we're going to gauge where he's at,” Warren told The Ring.

“He's only had three competitive rounds this year. That’s all he’s had.”

Although Itauma collected an impressive haul of junior and youth amateur titles, his unpaid career spanned just 24 fights and he has completed just 26 rounds as a professional.

Initially, the public bought into Itauma’s quest to break Mike Tyson’s record of becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history. That deadline has passed but Itauma has quickly become appointment viewing and people tune in or buy tickets to his fights expecting to see something spectacular.

Itauma is still learning and growing inside the ring but doing so as a headlining act does add a weight of expectation.

“Of course there is and a lot of pressure has been put on him, some of that himself because he said he wanted to win the world title as the youngest guy ever,” Warren said.

“He’s 21 on December 28 and he still has ambitions to be the youngest Brit to ever win a world title and that's his goal.

“I genuinely think that if he comes through this fight he'll fight for a world title next year.”