Both fighters have been tipped as future stars of British boxing. Itauma, 21, has rapidly climbed the heavyweight ranks with a string of stoppage victories, while Azim has emerged as one of the country’s leading contenders at light welterweight.
However, Bellew questioned whether their latest assignments provided the sort of tests needed to accelerate their development. Bellew was particularly critical of the opposition selected for the pair.
“The Claggett fight is like what Jermaine Franklin is for Moses Itauma. It’s useless,” Bellew said to Fight Your Corner.
When Ben Shalom pushed back on the criticism, Bellew doubled down on his position.
“What I can’t get me head around with Moses Itauma… you just said the ceiling is, for Adam Azim, you don’t know what the ceiling is, you think this kid could be pound-for-pound. That’s what you’re basically saying.”
“But I’m just, like, why are you sticking him in with Jermaine Franklin? That’s not gonna tell us anything.”
Bellew then expanded on his concerns, insisting that dominant wins over overmatched opponents do little to prepare elite prospects for the challenges that await at world level.
“It’s the same with Adam Azim. He has got a long career, and I think (Itauma’s) the boy who’s gonna light everyone up. But (Itauma) ain’t learning nothing by teeing off on a heavy bag. And Adam Azim’s not gonna learn nothing. He learned nothing in that Claggett fight.”
Itauma stopped Jermaine Franklin in five rounds on March 28, extending his unbeaten record and further strengthening calls for a step up in competition. Azim delivered an equally emphatic performance on May 30, halting Steve Claggett inside three rounds.
Shalom defended the matchmaking strategy during the same discussion, citing both the fighters’ ages and the commercial realities involved in building future stars. Bellew, however, maintained that if Itauma and Azim possess the elite potential many believe they do, sterner tests should arrive sooner rather than later.
