Stacey Copeland
Retired boxer on BBC Radio 5 Live

Franklin is not here to just make up the numbers. It's not just about giving Itauma rounds, Franklin wants to be the first man to beat him.

Kal Sajad
BBC Sport boxing journalist at Co-op Live Arena, Manchester

I'm 40 this year. No idea who Meekz is.

Moses Itauma is yet to appear but Manchester-based rapper Meekz is taking us through a few songs.

Ah, here comes Itauma. The British heavyweight fist bumps Meekz and gets down to the ring pretty sharpish too.

It's his first headline night and he's settling into the role.

Image source, Queensberry

Moses Itauma admits that he is caught in a difficult spot in his career. After nine successive knockout wins, with six of those victories coming in the first round, he has faced critics questioning how he will cope in the latter rounds of a contest.

Itauma never lost as an amateur and his chin has rarely - if ever - been tested.

Tonight's opponent Jermaine Franklin could be the man to help him tick both of those boxes.

Franklin has lost just twice in his career against Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua and has never been stopped.

"We can agree that Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte are big punchers, right?" Itauma told BBC Sport.

"Everybody's saying that I haven't seen the distance because I'm such a big puncher, right? So Jermaine Franklin's about to answer some questions."

Image source, Getty Images

Jermaine Franklin made his professional debut when Moses Itauma was just 10 years old.

The American, who hails from Saginaw in Michigan, won his first 21 fights as a professional, picking up 13 of those victories by knockout.

Franklin's first career defeat came in 2022 when he travelled to London to face Dillian Whyte - losing by majority decision.

He returned to the English capital the following year but picked up a second successive loss against Anthony Joshua - also by decision.

The 32-year-old has steadied the ship with three wins a row to earn tonight's date with Itauma.

And here comes Jermaine Franklin - the man drafted in to give Moses Itauma a serious test tonight.

No frills about the ringwalk as he confidently strides down the ramp in his black vest with gold trim.

We're about to get the ringwalks.

There's still time for you to cast your vote on who wins. So far, it's very heavily in favour of Moses Itauma.

Kal Sajad
BBC Sport boxing journalist at Co-op Live Arena, Manchester

Itauma has never been beyond six rounds and has stopped 11 of his 13 opponents inside two.

The question is - can he produce another early statement, or will he finally be taken into deeper waters? Will his chin be tested at all?

Image source, Queensberry

Moses Itauma took just 23 seconds to win on his professional debut in January 2023 - stopping Marcel Bode in devastating fashion.

Earlier on that card, his brother, Karol, fell to his first defeat as a professional and Moses admitted he "didn't even want to fight" after seeing that result.

Family means everything to Itauma and those bonds were only strengthened when they moved from Kezmarok, beneath Slovakia's Tatra Mountain, to Chatham in Kent.

Born to a Slovak mother and Nigerian father, Itauma's early years were defined by racism and a search for a place to belong.

"Me and my brothers, we don't look very Slovak, and that kind of limited opportunities that we can have in that country," Itauma told BBC Sport.

"My mum was like, they're probably going to have more opportunities and a better upbringing if they move to a country where people of mixed-race backgrounds are more common."

BBC Radio 5 Live

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Click 'Listen Live' at the top of this page to hear coverage from Ronald McIntosh, Steve Bunce, Stacey Copeland and Richie Woodhall.

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Fabio Wardley
World champion and DAZN analyst

Chinese or Indian takeaway?

"Indian."

Gerome Warburton picks up the biggest win of his career with a decision victory over Nathan Heaney.

A decent contest to get us ready for the main event.

Image source, Queensberry

Image source, Queensberry

Kal Sajad
BBC Sport boxing journalist at Co-op Live Arena, Manchester

By his own admission, Moses Itauma isn’t a fan of the spotlight outside the ring.

Having said that, he's not overawed by it either. He spent time with BBC Sport this week and was calm, measured and unfazed. There were no nerves.

But you get the feeling that this is a fighter who’d rather speak with his gloves than his words.

Fabio Wardley
World champion and DAZN analyst

Who is your favourite heavyweight fighter of all time?

"Muhammad Ali."

Kal Sajad
BBC Sport boxing journalist at Co-op Live Arena, Manchester

A lot of big hitters in tonight. Daniel Dubois, Fabio Wardley and Lawrence Okolie are amongst the Queensberry Promotions' heavyweight stable. I've also seen Doncaster's Dave Allen knocking about.

There's a lot of hype around Moses Itauma but, as you can see on the graphics below, he's not had to throw many punches to get his last three opponents out of there.

A total of 92 punches thrown across those three bouts... that's why we have questions about how he will cope when he comes up against a testing rival.