Jermaine Franklin: record, next fight and profile →
For the most part, Anthony Joshua’s career has been flooded with a perpetual amount of praise. From his hulking physique to his ability to separate his foes from their consciousness, Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) has essentially been the heavyweight division’s golden child. However, despite his praises being sung, Andy Ruiz Jr. revealed several cracks in his armor.
Anthony Joshua says he never seriously considered quitting the sport after his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk last summer. Joshua had a meltdown in the ring and broke down in tears at the press conference after losing his rematch to Usyk in
Anthony Joshua has revealed he is now motivated primarily by money as he prepares to take on Jermaine Franklin on April 1. Joshua is returning from back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk against the Michigan heavyweight, who was beaten by Dillian Whyte in November.
NEW YORK – Eddie Hearn looks at Anthony Joshua’s upcoming fight as an opportunity to determine what the 33-year-old former heavyweight champion has left after suffering back-to-back points defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua, Franklin Press Conference Photos Gallery - Former two-time Heavyweight World Champion Anthony Joshua makes his comeback against American contender Jermaine Franklin at The O2 in London on Saturday April 1. (photos by Mark Robinson)
Anthony Joshua and his team did not see the purpose of taking on a southpaw for Joshua’s comeback fight. That line of thinking was apparently the biggest determinator in what led Joshua to select American heavyweight Jermaine Franklin for his next fight; Franklin boxes out of the conventional stance.
By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Maybe he’s patient. Maybe he’s not. Either way, Jermaine Franklin certainly has been waiting a while. The Saginaw, Mich. native has been a pro for nearly eight full years and has fought 111 rounds across 22 fights, but he’s long been biding his time waiting for a significant opportunity. He spent his first seven years and 20 fights working the sport’s less-heralded back rooms in cities like Youngstown,
Former two-time unified Heavyweight Champion of the World Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) fights at The O2 in London for the first time since 2016 as he begins life under the tutelage of new head trainer Derrick James. ‘AJ’ returns to the scene of his first World Title win over Charles Martin to face another American contender in Jermaine Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs). Saginaw’s ‘989 Assassin’ pushed Dillian Whyte all the way in a close points loss at Wembley’s OVO Arena last November and is relishing his shot against one of the biggest names in the sport.
British heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte feels like he is being shafted these days by the powers that be, if recent indications of Anthony Joshua’s next opponent are accurate.
Anthony Joshua’s next fight may be more tune-up than world-caliber, but the pressure to win may be greater than ever, at least according to his promoter. Matchroom head Eddie Hearn did not mince words as it relates to his star charge’s attempt to rebound from two consecutive defeats to WBO, WBA, IBF, IBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.