Via Sam Volz: Eddie Hearn says it’s likely Anthony Joshua’s next fight with Jermaine Franklin will be shown on pay-per-view on April 1 from the O2 Arena in London.
Selling Joshua-Franklin fights on DAZN PPV won’t win Listen to any friends from boxing aficionados, especially with multiple subscribers to the streaming platform.
Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) has lost his last two fights; Some feel that he is mentally and physically impaired after ten years of playing professionally. His April 1 contest was supposed to be a confidence boost to lift his spirits, as he needs a win at this point to save his career.
Unless Hearn is going to push the Joshua-Franklin fight from its perspective ‘win or retire,’ it won’t bring more than a handful of pay-per-view purchases. Americans won’t buy the fight in bulk, but British fans will if Hearn promotes the contest based on a retirement theme.
Interestingly, Hearn is being coy about whether Joshua’s fight will be pay-per-view, which shows that he doesn’t want to be insulted by the bad press and fans before the match. with Franklin was even negotiated. It doesn’t matter, though. If it was pay-per-view, fans would be reeling from Hearn non-stop and many of them would refuse to buy the unethical match.
Joshua vs. Franklin “could be” PPV
“You’ll get a notification about AJ next week,” Eddie Hearn told boxing society about Anthony Joshua’s next match on April 1 at the O2 Arena in London. “Jermaine Franklin is a man capable of fighting. I think it was a great fight.
“Maybe pay-per-view, maybe not. See this space
“On the one hand, ‘Anthony Joshua’s over, his spirit is blown to pieces’, and ‘Oh, Jermaine Franklin is a terrible fight because he’s going to knock him out in three rounds’, and then, ‘Jermaine Franklin beat Dillian Whyte, but it was a terrible fight for AJ.’
“These people are completely psychotic. This is a really, really tough fight for him to come back to. Return to the lion’s den at O2. It’s going to be a big event, and I’m looking forward to meeting him [Joshua] return. He is currently in Texas training. I think you’ll see a great Anthony Joshua on April 1st.
“Adam Catterall, I like disciples fighting, but damn it. They’re more self-contradictory than I am, and that’s hard. When he [Joshua] going to fight Fury, people say, ‘Oh, you can’t let him fight Fury. Mentally, he broke down after his battle with Usyk. He needs to rebuild and come back.’
“Now, he’s back in the fight against the very same people who said Franklin defeated Dillian Whyte, which I think was a very, very close fight. ‘It was a mismatch.’ Franklin is a very good heavyweight boxer, full of confidence.
Hear shoots back the criticism
“You just saw the #1 heavyweight boxer in the world beat Deontay Wilder and beat Dillian Whyte and fight Derek Chisora. However, this guy, Anthony Joshua, just played against a potential No. 1 and lost to him twice. He got a new trainer, went back and fought Jermaine Franklin, and what a surprise; It’s a terrible mix.
“F**k they’re all I can say because I tell you what. I have never been so excited about the return of Anthony Joshua. For me, getting this guy back to where he should be, what I believe to be the world heavyweight championship is a personal thing for me.
“We are going to O2. The whole world’s eyes will be on the O2 Arena that night and Anthony Joshua, and you’ll see that the pressure is on. Hearn said the pressure is huge in this fight.
