Comments Thread For: Anthony Joshua-Jermaine Franklin Finalized For April 1 At O2 Arena In London

[MusoMeanderings]

Eddie Hearn before Franklin-Whyte:

"This fight, is hUUUUUge. Why? Because the winner will fight AJ"

Or the loser apparently

Damn, I forgot, it was literally like that! haha
But he didn't say next lol!

Spot on assesment,sir.

[57Blues]

AJ needs a fight like this. if fact he needs two or 3 fights like this. Skill is not the problem. He has not recoved from the KO to Ruiz. The problem is in his head. AJ has loss 3 of his last 4 fights. He needs to stay busy. An easy fight every other month. This will keep him sharp. Until such time he is ready to take on the big boys.

If A.J. has not reached the level of fighting a top ten fighter after his last lose then he never will reach the level of a fighter that can win real match ups and capture the eye of fight fans. three fights to get ready for a challenge.? He is not what Eddie thought he was he is not what he ever he thought he could be in the ring. Now he will make some pay days and pretend he is something he is not. And that something is a challenger to any real top ten heavy weights of this time. Old mister " I do not fight 12 round fights" - the guy dont even have class enough to lose in the ring -Grab the flag of another country and prance around and act like a fool. Forget about him.

[MusoMeanderings]

Franklin is very low tier .Whyte struggled to beat him and they are selling it on that but consider this , in his previous Whyte fought Tyson and he never won a round and was KO'd very quick.Two fights before that Whyte was again KO'd by an old now retired Povetkin. I don't care for Franklin being used just to make Joshua look good and after his decent last performance Joshua should be building on it not going backwards but it seems his head has gone. So here we have it for all the Joshua diehards , a brutal KO of a guy who's just coming as a victim then a summer 'big' fight with Whyte at Wembley enjoy!! ... I have no real problem with Franklin considering Joshua's state of mind but the level he talks about achieving , winning a third world title I find it difficult to see that we are not being stuffed again here. Joshua v Franklin then Joyce, Wilder or Fury to show you mean business please.
Otherwise it's clearly another money making con and hasn't Joshua got enough in the bank already!

Consider this: AJ needs warm up for Fury leftovers lol!

[PRINCEKOOL]

I'm no fan of Joshua but people need to chill out and give him a little slack talking about he should go straight into the Wilder fight among other nonsense this guy just had 2 losses in a row and his mentality wasn't even right before those fights. I think Joshua should be allowed to regroup on some average tier boxers then come back 100% again. I wouldn't want a fight between Joshua and one of the top names because Joshua isn't 100% and it will be used as ammo for the haters "Wilder/Fury picked Joshua when he was weak and not himself" blahblah.

I'm not mad at Joshua especially considering Whyte 2 was first floated around which would have people bitching "didn't this journeyman just get beat by Franklin"

Joshua will most likely fight Franklin then Whyte.

But? That third fight back for Joshua, has to be a step up in levels.

If he is to truly be competitive again at elite level, then he has to take fights which? Skill for skill carry over against the Top Fighters.

Franklin & Whyte are not low level Heavyweights, but? I don't class them as High End World level fighters.

Joshua has to use these type of fights, to build momentum. I.E Some fights you just need to get the win, in others your aim should be to make a statement 'To the boxing world and to yourself as a fighter'.

This is the position Joshua is in. He has to beat up and blast these guys out.

When Mike Tyson came out of Jail, that was what he was doing with all of his opponents. McNeely, Mathis, Seldon, and then Mike Tyson stepped up vs Bruno and for me? That was a underrated performance, very good performance from Mike Tyson.

Joshua has to build momentum, then step up in levels come his third fight back. This looks to be the match making philosophy his team are going to use etc.

[MusoMeanderings]

April 1st sounds about right for this farce.

[Kzbox]

Joshua will most likely fight Franklin then Whyte.

But? That third fight back for Joshua, has to be a step up in levels.

If he is to truly be competitive again at elite level, then he has to take fights which? Skill for skill carry over against the Top Fighters.

Franklin & Whyte are not low level Heavyweights, but? I don't class them as High End World level fighters.

Joshua has to use these type of fights, to build momentum. I.E Some fights you just need to get the win, in others your aim should be to make a statement 'To the boxing world and to yourself as a fighter'.

This is the position Joshua is in. He has to beat up and blast these guys out.

When Mike Tyson came out of Jail, that was what he was doing with all of his opponents. McNeely, Mathis, Seldon, and then Mike Tyson stepped up vs Bruno and for me? That was a underrated performance, very good performance from Mike Tyson.

Joshua has to build momentum, then step up in levels come his third fight back. This looks to be the match making philosophy his team are going to use etc.

That sounds about right and how it will/should go, just makes me laugh everyone jumping on AJ like vultures but at the same time there is many top boxers who have never fought the caliber Joshua has although older non prime versions. I think it's cool he takes a step back to recompose himself and find himself as a fighter.

[sicko]

I guess...Edward made it clear AJ basically taking 2 Tuneups

Franklin is OK, he should look good vs Franklin but Franklin is tough as seen vs Whyte so he will have his moments vs a stiff AJ

[Mammoth]

I have zero issues with this

[PBR Streetgang]

I don't hate this fight but it's understandably underwhelming. AJ coming off two losses, needs a relatively safe opponent but one that isnt a complete farce.

Franklin displayed some skills but he hasn't shown alot of power and doesn't fight at a high pace. AJ should be able to dictate distance and tempo. I imagine he will be ahead on the cards and could potentially stop Franklin in the later rounds.

AJ should get some rounds in a fight that he can control and look good in. Let's see if that's how it unfolds...

[Monty Fisto]

I don't hate this fight but it's understandably underwhelming. AJ coming off two losses, needs a relatively safe opponent but one that isnt a complete farce.

Franklin displayed some skills but he hasn't shown alot of power and doesn't fight at a high pace. AJ should be able to dictate distance and tempo. I imagine he will be ahead on the cards and could potentially stop Franklin in the later rounds.

AJ should get some rounds in a fight that he can control and look good in. Let's see if that's how it unfolds...

Boxing being what boxing is, it's definitely understandable and unsurprising that that a low-level tune-up/rebuild fight is required. I think what irks is the gaps between the fights. I don't think there's anything wrong with taking an easier opponent... but there should only be two or three months in between fights for such an opponent. Fighting once every six months is just about OK if they are top tier fights, but when the likely path is this, then Whyte, the gaps are too big. The second fight aginst Usyk was last August. This fight should have been happening this month, then Whyte (or whomever the next stepping stone is ) in April.