"Franklin has a chance!" Gassiev fears Itauma's plans could be ruined

Murat Gassiev has indicated his openness to a potential WBA title bout against Moses Itauma, contingent on the highly-touted British heavyweight extending his unbeaten record this weekend. Gassiev currently holds the WBA regular title, a secondary championship to the WBA 'Super' belt held by Oleksandr Usyk. With Itauma ranked as the number one contender directly behind Gassiev in the WBA standings, a match-up between the two heavyweights is a distinct possibility.

"I don't know, maybe," Gassiev stated when asked about Itauma being his next opponent. "He has a fight against [Jermaine] Franklin. We'll see what happens after this fight and when this fight is finished we can speak about what's next."

Gassiev believes that American contender Jermaine Franklin has the potential to upset Itauma's future plans when they face off this Saturday in Manchester.

"It's the heavyweight division, big guys, good punchers, good power and I don't know what'll happen. Itauma has a chance, Franklin has a chance. I can't see the future. I think who's training better will win," Gassiev commented. "I don't know what will happen in the fight. Itauma's a young fighter, talented, strong, fast, Itauma's very good. Franklin's a very good fighter. I don't know… He's not an easy opponent for him."

Gassiev expects his next fight to take place in the summer. "I'm just training," he confirmed. "We have a plan to fight in the middle of the summer, like July and we're working for this right now. Right now a lot of top fighters have fights and after their fights we'll see, see what plans and what next."

Makhmudov 'very, very hard fight' for Fury

While an Itauma loss to Franklin would be a significant surprise, Gassiev also highlighted the potential for another unexpected outcome in the upcoming bout between Aslanbek Makhmudov and Tyson Fury, scheduled for April 11. Despite Fury being his "favourite fighter," Gassiev warned that Makhmudov presents "a very, very hard fight" and has a genuine opportunity to cause an upset. "He can take this chance," Gassiev added. "Tyson is Tyson, you never know. It's very important how he's training. Discipline, staying in training. If his training is serious, it's a good fight. But we'll see."