MANCHESTER -- Frank Warren has said a fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma would sell out Wembley Stadium "in a heartbeat" and teased if he was managing the Ukrainian he wouldn't want him "anywhere near" his British prospect.
Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs) will return to the ring for the first time since August on Saturday, taking on American Jermaine Franklin Jr. in Manchester [10 p.m. DAZN].
Warren wants to see Itauma, 21, tested against Franklin (24-2, 15 KOs) since the Brit only fought in 26 professional rounds due to his emphatic knockout rate.
Itauma hopes he can answer questions he has of himself against the veteran American before moving on to higher stakes fights later in the year.
A fight against the unified heavyweight champion has been floated, but Warren believes Usyk doesn't want to take the risk of being beaten by a 21-year-old.
"It's risk vs. reward" Warren told media. "Usyk says he doesn't want to fight Moses because of whatever it is ... He's got to give a reason why the fight's not happening, but for me it is pure risk vs. reward, he's fighting a kickboxer next."
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Usyk will face former kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven in Egypt on May 23 for the WBC title.
He has also outlined the last two opponents he wants to face before he retires, being the winner of Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois [May 9] and a trilogy bout with Tyson Fury, who he has beaten twice.
"He's not defended his title against [Agit] Kabayel which he should be doing. It's all risk reward," Warren added. "If I was managing Usyk, I wouldn't want him anywhere near Moses at this point in time.
"If he [Itauma] comes through on Saturday, if we made that fight on Sunday, Wembley would be sold out like that, in a heartbeat, and the pay-per-view would go through the roof. I'm telling you, and I've been in this game a long time.
"There is a reward there but there's also a risk there and I don't think he [Usyk] wants it."
Ituama remains focused on beating Franklin and showing his abilities on Saturday, rather than chasing a huge fight against a top name.
"I don't feel like I need to build my career off a win. I've headlined as a 20-year-old, as a 21-year-old I'm headlining in Manchester, I'm not building my career off other people's backs," Itauma said.
"I'm doing it my own way. Every fighter that has had a passing of the torch [fight] although I respect these fighters, I don't need to have their career. I don't need to be that person; I can be my own man."
