Despite being thoroughly outboxed against Oleksandr Usyk during their initial showdown, Anthony Joshua refused to believe that the smaller, yet skillful heavyweight, was the better fighter.

In their immediate rematch, a more determined and aggressive Joshua may have entered the ring but the Ukrainian still managed to outbox his man. With his seat at the unified throne now occupied, Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) will attempt to start from scratch.

On April 1st, at the O2 Arena in the United Kingdom, the hulking former champion is officially set to take on Jermaine Franklin. The American contender is aiming to bounce back from his own defeat. Just a few months prior, the 29-year-old was forced to swallow what he believes was an unjust decision against Dillian Whyte.

Armed with new trainer Derrick James, Joshua is hoping to one day place himself in the championship mix. While it remains unlikely, a third showdown against Usyk is a top priority for Joshua.

James, admittedly, watched a bit of Joshua’s close defeat at the hands of the Ukrainian southpaw. Although the newly crowned trainer of the year reveres Usyk and his awe-inspiring skills, he firmly believes that if Joshua is given one more crack, he could successfully lead the 33-year-old to a much different outcome.

“Yes,” said James to DAZN Boxing when asked if he could coach up Joshua and push him over the winning finish line against Usyk. “Because I train left-handed fighters.”

As James alludes to, he trains two of the premier southpaws in all of boxing in Errol Spence Jr., the unified champion at 147 pounds, and Jermell Charlo, the undisputed kingpin one division north.

In the case of Charlo, the pugnacious star solidified himself as the man to beat following his 10th-round stoppage victory over Brian Castano. Although Spence has clamored for an undisputed clash against WBO titlist, Terence Crawford, talks between the two have continued to stall.

Still, the Dallas native aggregated yet another welterweight title in 2022 after his 10th-round dismantling against Yordenis Ugas.