Via Brian Webber: Anthony Joshua says he takes his opponent Jermaine Franklin seriously and stands firm for their match on April 1 at the O2 Arena in London.
Joshua’s two nasty losses, Andy Ruiz Jr’s first two in 2019 and then Oleksandr Usyk’s in 2021, make it imperative for AJ not to skip Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs) as he also capable of winning like those two boxers.
As we saw with Franklin’s recent classy performance against Dillian Whyte last November in London, he has skills Joshua has never seen before at the professional level, and he has it. was able to overcome difficulties despite being greatly outperformed by a 6’6″ tall opponent. two-time heavyweight champion.
Has Eddie Hearn lost faith in Joshua?
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn looked less confident when talking about his future today at the kick-off press conference.
When Hearn talked about not knowing if 33-year-old Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) would fight four to six fights before retiring, he had a gloomy expression on his face, which one might consider suspicious. doubts about AJ’s future.
“I’ll keep my feet on the ground and take him seriously,” Anthony Joshua said of Jermaine Franklin during Thursday’s bout Press Conference.
“Obviously the race was incredible and it’s been more than six years since we’ve been at O2. I won’t read the opponent because I’ve done it a million times, but when I get back to that location, I remember when you fought Emmanuel Leo,” Eddie Hearn said while speaking to Joshua.
“You show up and wear Italian tracksuits, and I think, ‘You look serious.’ You took care of him, Kevin Johnson, Gary Cornish, Dillian Whyte, Charles Martin and also Dominic Breazeale. It’s good to be back there,” Hearn said.
Joshua is happy to be back at work
“I don’t care where I box. It’s good to work, another night of work,” Joshua said. “It’s been a long time, fighting for the title, challenging everyone. I think that’s 12 back-to-back championship matches.
“As you said, you have seen the development from Emanuel Leo until now. I tried to tweak my style because, in this heavyweight boxing sport, it’s a matter of longevity. You have to adapt and understand that it’s sweet science and untouched,” Joshua said of his thoughts.
“It was to devalue Jermaine, that if he lost to Jermaine, he should retire,” his promoter Dmitry Salita told. boxing society. “I believe Jermaine is a world heavyweight boxer. This is the toughest American heavyweight that AJ could choose to fight. I believe Jermaine will shine brightly on April 1st,” said Salita.
