Moses Itauma is set for a third straight event as headliner, topping the bill at the O2 Arena in three months as he nears a world title shot.
After running through Dillian Whyte in the opening round of his first main event, Itauma was tasked with Jermaine Franklin in Manchester back in March and had no issues continuing his knockout streak, halting the American after five one-sided rounds.
Following the fight, promoter Frank Warren unveiled plans for the 21-year-old to appear in the summer and then in a world title bout before the end of the year, but he has since revealed that his final outing of 2026 will be a US debut, leading to doubts as to whether it will be for world honours.
Additionally, Itauma is expected to be soon named as the WBO’s mandatory challenger, opening the door to an in-house fight against fellow Queensberry operator and newly crowned WBO heavyweight world champion, Daniel Dubois.
Yet, there are several possible routes that Itauma could pursue that do not involve dethroning another of Warren’s fighters, with the WBA and IBF belts expected to be soon taken out of Oleksandr Usyk’s grasp.
Speaking with DAZN, Warren looked ahead to Itauma’s August fight date, unveiling that he will face a ‘top 10-ranked fighter’.
“All I can tell you is, until the contracts are signed, it will be a top 10 ranked fighter. It’ll be a good test, another good test for him and we’re looking forward to a sellout in London at the O2.”
Warren’s words rule out Itauma taking on Dubois next, with ‘Triple D’ understandably requiring a rest after an arduous battle against Fabio Wardley on Saturday night and subect to a rematch clause should Wardley enforce it.
Other potential top ten names, depending on which rankings Warren refers to, include WBA Regular champion Murat Gassiev, Zhilei Zhang, Jarrell Miller and Martin Bakole
