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There is no doubt that Moses Itauma is a precocious talent. At just 21 years of age he has drawn great applause from the Boxing community and is well on his way to becoming a crossover star. He headlines for the second time this Saturday, in the city of Manchester which has been the home to boxing royalty, most notably the late great Ricky Hatton.

Jermaine Franklin stands in his way. A tough yet durable American who has gone the distance with the likes of Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. Franklin represents a real test, given he has never been stopped in his professional career to date. Despite being in with live opponents, Itauma has yet to experience real adversity in the ring. Franklin's experience and ringcraft could expose how he responds when things don't go his way.

The rest of the card does not disappoint. Ezra Taylor faces Willy Hutchinson in the light-heavyweight division, a bout that has the potential to trump the main event. Hutchinson enters proceedings with an impressive seven round stoppage of Mark Jeffers in Scotland. , Taylor remains unbeaten in his professional career to date, amassing a 13-0 (9 KO record). Trained under the watchful eye of Malik Scott, Taylor looked sharp and polished in his last outing against Steed Woodall.

While Itauma is gaining plaudits inside the ring, he is turning heads outside of the ring. In a period where Nike are restructuring and letting go of high-profile athletes, their decision to sign with Itauma shows a belief in his ability to become a crossover star. This is evident in their decision to choose Itauma as a face of their Air Max RK61 campaign, produced in collaboration with Air Afrique. In his most recent outing against Dilian Whyte, Itauma partnered with Slawn, arguably the biggest name in contemporary art to produce a bespoke fight kit.The tide has shifted. Athletes are becoming brands and I expect to see brand Itauma shining for the foreseeable future.

Zuffa Boxing's signing with Paramount could have derailed DAZN, but it seems to have had quite the opposite effect. In the past couple of weeks we have DAZN agree an extension to their deal with Golden Boy as well as agreeing a partnership with Top Rank. While both deals are non exclusive (meaning they can still sign other broadcast deals) it does significantly strengthen their boxing offering.

While multiple broadcasters promote competition, they can also prevent fights from taking place. Now four of the five largest traditional promotions in Boxing are now on a single streaming platform, which should in theory make fights easier to make. I guess time will tell.

The Ali Boxing revival act is one step closer to become law after it swiftly passed the House of Representatives. The act would allow for the creation of a UBO (unified boxing organisations), effectively replicating a UFC model. This would allow for one company to control promotion, rankings titles and matchmaking under one roof, a model prohibited under the original Ali Act. The bill requires 60 senate votes. If it passes it could become law by the end of 2026, which would mark a huge win for Zuffa Boxing.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Kate Scott and Dev Sahni at the press conference yesterday. Both interviews are linked below!

https://youtu.be/2CSCoZ6JIBU?si=8NjbiDLTaWu11KMk

https://youtu.be/ZwWA5BEldE0?si=n-p439t93huW-fDP