Moses Itauma‘s 2026 fight schedule is beginning to take shape.
The 13-0 heavyweight was last out in August when he stopped Dillian Whyte inside two minutes, bringing the total number of men he has stopped within two rounds to nine.
Although Itauma declared himself ready for undisputed ruler Oleksandr Usyk in the ring afterwards, his team have decided to build him more slowly and he is now going to take on former Anthony Joshua and Whyte foe Jermaine Franklin in January.
This comes after he was ordered to face WBA Regular champion Kubrat Pulev, who instead signed to fight Russian former cruiserweight turned heavyweight Murat Gassiev, with details of how that unfolded now made public.
In a new post on X, journalist Dan Rafael has shared the WBA’s resolution on the matter.
It details that Pulev appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to defend his title against a ranked contender, but the WBA did not hear from him and so ordered him to fight the number one ranked Itauma. A day later, Team Pulev said they had signed to fight Gassiev and made a Special Permit Request.
Itauma then opposed that request, but the WBA ultimately granted Pulev permission to fight Gassiev on the basis that the winner must fight the Brit next.
It means that Itauma could find himself taking on Gassiev instead, if the dangerous Russian can overcome Pulev in December. Gassiev has lost just two of his 35 contests, a points loss to Usyk in 2018 at 200lbs, and a split decision defeat to Otto Wallin in September 2023 – his fourth contest at heavyweight.
For now though, Itauma’s current focus remains solely on Franklin, who can completely derail these plans with an upset win in January.
