MANCHESTER, England — Moses Itauma has already been anointed as a heavyweight champion in waiting, but the 20-year-old is treating his upcoming fight with respected American Jermaine Franklin as a chance to silence any remaining doubters.

The heavyweight contenders will meet at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena on January 24. The event will be broadcast exclusively on DAZN.

Britain’s Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs) has made a flawless start to his career, but the southpaw has been able control the tempo and range of each and every one of his 26 professional rounds with his fast, accurate punching and efficient footwork.

If Franklin (24-2,15 KOs) can survive the inevitable early storm and force Itauma past the sixth round for the first time, his resoluteness, old-school style and educated aggression could well drag the younger foe to places he hasn’t yet been.

“Jermaine Franklin, great fight, great fighter. The guy's just come off a great win with Ivan Dychko. The reason why everybody feels that it's a perfect fight is because what he does well are question marks on my career,” Itauma said at Monday’s launch press conference.

“I believe this fight is the best for my development. Not only that, it's like I can finally like shut a few people up. It's just the only one I ain't trying to get trying to get answered is, 'How’s Moses Itauma’s chin?' Ain't nobody trying to answer that one.”

Itauma has been guided perfectly through the lower tiers of the heavyweight division but he is being positioned for a world title shot at some point in 2026. Franklin has been selected as the ideal opponent to help him graduate to world level.

The 32-year-old isn’t at the end of a long, gruelling career. Neither is he untested or a stranger to the big occasion.

Franklin showed up well in his decision defeats to two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. Whilst the world’s top 20 heavyweights have been involved in an unofficial round robin over the past two years, he has had to sit on the outside and hold a watching brief.

In September, Franklin outpointed the previously undefeated Kazakh, Dychko, on the undercard of Terence Crawford’s outstanding victory over Canelo Alvarez and finally got his foot back in the door. His reward is one of the most high-profile assignments in the heavyweight division.

Itauma accepts that Franklin is likely to provide him with the toughest test but he doesn’t believe that he is hungrier or more determined than any of his recent victims.

“I believe Demsey McKean had the same fire. Mike Balogun had the same fire. Dilllan Whyte had the same fire. So it's nothing new,” he said.

“I feel like even though I've been in this pro game for only two and a half years, I feel like it's been 10. This boxing stuff, it's just something that I got to do because I don't like to not be in the gym.

“When Jermaine Franklin came to my attention, I was just like, 'You know what? My coaches and trainers have been asking for this fight for so long so let's make it happen.'”