Boxing
Itauma vs Franklin - Tony Bellew makes emphatic prediction ahead of big heavyweight fight
Itauma vs Franklin: Subscribe to watch - March 28
There’s a wide belief within the boxing community that Jermaine Franklin is the man to provide Moses Itauma with some much-needed rounds, but Tony Bellew does not agree.
In recent years, Franklin has proved just how stubborn he is on several occasions after extending both Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, as well as defeating huge puncher, Ivan Dychko.
Franklin is being brought to Manchester to see if he can ask questions of Itauma, but he will be facing a man who has made light work of slid contenders such as Whyte and Demsey Mckean.
Itauma ready to prove himself in toughest test yet!
Watch behind the scenes at Itauma's training camp
As it stands, Itauma is highly ranked with the WBA and a showdown with their beltholder, Murat Gassiev, could be the reward for victory against Franklin, and Bellew is expecting the 21-year-old to make a huge impression when the bell first sounds.
The Liverpool man, a former cruiserweight world champion, operated at heavyweight for a brief period at the backend of his career as he featured in a two-fight series with David Haye. It’s a division he has long studied and is he is impressed with what he has seen from Itauma so far.
“He’s doing everything expected of him so far when there’s a lot of pressure on him, but that’s what top fighters need to do,” said Bellew when speaking with DAZN News .
“If I’m being honest then I think he stops him when he wants him to. This is a young, ferocious heavyweight looking to prove a point and he’s in a different place in his career than what Joshua and Whyte were.
“He may want to go rounds and take it past halfway, but personally, I just think he’s too quick and too powerful to even let it go that far. Franklin is tough, but he’s in deep here and it’s going to get really hard for him.”
Watch Itauma vs. Franklin with a DAZN subscription
Knockout sensation Moses Itauma faces his toughest test against Jermaine Franklin this Saturday night, March 28. Watch exclusively with a DAZN Ultimate subscription to also get PPVs Chisora vs. Wilder (April 4), Wardley vs. Dubois (May 9), and Usyk vs Verhoeven (May 23) included.
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