In all fairness, this is before the WBO said the winner of Wardely-Dubois has to fight him, but he don't seem to fancy it. This content is protected About 1:42, he is asked and laughs the idea off.
Wardley could have beaten the version of Itauma we saw today. Itauma fought like a very obese version of Corrie Sanders (rip). Still could be great though.
Itauma had a fat blob heavy bag in front of him and in rd 4-5 that heavy bag showed some brief signs of life. Now how does Itauma do when an opponent doesn't get blasted away in a couple of rounds and has some offensive ability and power to go along with it? Then we can better judge on his true ceiling as a fighter. Until then he is a top prospect but largely unproven.
Jermaine Franklin’s best performance came against Joshua, where he weighed 235 pounds. In this fight, Franklin came in at 259 pounds.
Wardley is as game as they come, very likable, and a classic throwback fighter. He's world-level and far more proven than Itauma, at the moment, yes. However, technically, Itauma is already streets ahead of him. Let's remember that Wardley had a barroom brawl with Frazer Clarke for 36 minutes and was completely outboxed by Huni for 9 rounds. There are levels to the game, and I'm telling you, if they ever get in the ring, Itauma will make Wardley look like he has never boxed before. That's why he doesn't want it; it has nothing to do with having the same trainer. Wardley wants a crack at a couple of big-money nights before he eventually loses his 0, and I don't blame him. If he beats Dubois, he gets a shot at all the marbles; he doesn't want to fight the biggest prospect in the division, which has a much lower return and probably an equal level of risk.