MANCHESTER, England -- Moses Itauma has been left asking himself what his limit is after a sensational knockout over Jermaine Franklin Jr. on Saturday.
In one of his longer fights, Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) stopped Franklin (24-3, 15 KOs) in Round Five after scoring a knockdown in Round Three.
A huge left uppercut backed up by with a right hand sent Franklin to the canvas for the 12th stoppage of his short career.
The speed of his progression has left Itauma questioning how high he can go.
"I always knew I can do this, but I didn't think it would be so soon," Itauma told his post-fight news conference.
"But obviously I've done what some other British [heavyweights] couldn't do [KO Franklin] and they've gone on to achieve successful things. So what's the limit for me?"
Franklin Jr. was brought in to test the young Brit and while he took his shots well early on and fought bravely, it soon became clear that another knockout was on the way.
Having now walked through Franklin, Dillian Whyte and Demsey McKean with ease, the 21-year-old is moving at pace towards bigger fights and world titles.
Itauma praised coaches Ben Davison and Lee Wylie, saying the shot that finished Franklin was "instinctive," while he also credited Franklin for being so resilient.
"He took Dillian White's best punches, took Anthony Joshua's best punches ... And obviously Fabio [Wardley] has been sparring him. We all know what Fabio can do and he took his best punches," Itauma said.
"I tried to go out there and obviously try to make a statement, knock him out, but then it's the basics that got the job done."