Coming off two losses, Joshua knows he badly needs to win
Former two-time unified heavyweight titlist returns against Franklin with new trainer and plans for a knockout victory
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The last time Anthony Joshua, the former two-time unified heavyweight titleholder, was in a fight without a world title at stake was in 2015, a stretch of 12 bouts, most of which were major boxing events because of his star power in the United Kingdom.
But after losing his three major belts to Oleksandr Usyk by upset decision in September 2021 and then turning in a better performance but losing to him again in an immediate rematch in August 2022, Joshua finds himself in a nontitle fight looking to prove to the naysayers that he has a lot left as strives to impress and get back in position for another title fight.
He heads into a 12-round fight with Jermaine Franklin on Saturday (DAZN, 2 p.m. ET) at The O2 in his hometown of London with his third trainer in three fights, this time reigning trainer of the year Derrick James.
While Joshua, who kicks off an exclusive five-year contract with DAZN, is aiming to end the two-fight losing streak he is also thinking about a knockout.
“I feel I need to knock the next X amount of opponents out,” Joshua told Fight Freaks Unite. “That’s my goal, and also to be a well-rounded fighter, so you have your attack and your defense and I need to display my attributes when it comes to the attacking and also defend the shots that are coming back. My goal is to finish him, or whoever is in the ring with me, before the 12th round.”
The 6-foot-6 Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs), 33, who weighed in at a career-heavy 255.4 pounds, is 2-3 in his last five fights because he also lost his titles for the first time in a gargantuan upset to Andy Ruiz Jr., who took the fight on relatively short notice and knocked Joshua out in the seventh round at Madison Square Garden in New York in June 2019. Joshua regained the belts by lopsided decision six months later and then stopped mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev in the ninth round during the throes of the coronavirus pandemic before a crowd limited to only 1,000 people before being soundly beaten by Usyk twice in row.
That is what makes the fight with Franklin so important to Joshua’s career.
“It is a dangerous fight,” Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said. “There's a huge amount of pressure on Anthony Joshua. This is a real fight. If AJ lets him get confident in this fight it is going to be a very difficult fight.”
Joshua clearly understands its significance. It’s why he left the United Kingdom to train with James at his gym in Dallas.
“It’s big, it’s massive,” Joshua said of the fight this week. “It’s a big fight for me, for sure. I respect my opponent fully and respect everything he's been through and we're here to rock and roll. I respect my supporters as well so I have put in the work.
“I respect my coach as well, so I want to make sure I get the job done in good finish. I like the fact you always dangle carrots in front of me, telling me if I do this, this is here and that's there always leading onto big things. I dream big and I want bigger and better things in my life. As I stated in the last press conference, I want to secure the bag (of big money) and move on in my life. The goal is not to make it back to the corner; the goal is to take him out.”
He said he feels like James is the man to lead him there. After splitting with career-long trainer Robert McCracken after the first loss to Usyk, he went with Robert Garcia for the rematch after working out with various American trainers. After the second loss in a row, Joshua visited James, who he did not work out with during his previous tour of American gyms.
He felt like they connected as, as Joshua explained he “took a leap of faith” by going with James, who also trains undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo and three-belt unified welterweight titlist Errol Spence Jr. but had never before trained a heavyweight.
“I think that I’ve learned a lot about Anthony from his dedication and the fact that he is always a student and always wants more,” James said. “We will show everything that we have been working on. I think that Jermaine Franklin is a very tough fighter. I really don’t care how we get the win; I just care that we get it.
“Everybody is working hard. Everybody is pushing hard. It is about what you’re willing to give up to be successful because everybody is working hard, but not everybody is willing to give up something. AJ was willing to sacrifice something and you’re going to see how that pays off.”
‘The goal is not to make it back to the corner, the goal is to take him out,’ — Joshua
A Joshua win surely will lead to another mega fight and the kind of mega paydays he is used to. He named three fights he wants most within the next year: British rival Tyson Fury, the WBC and lineal champion, with whom he has negotiated twice only to see the bout not come off; former titleholder Deontay Wilder, another big name that there were talks with that did not result in a fight; and WBO interim titlist and fellow Brit Joe Joyce.
“It seems like Deontay Wilder’s more realistic, because I just think that the stuff that goes on with Fury is a bit crazy, man,” Joshua said. “I’ve been in this situation for a long time — even with them two I’ve been in this same situation — but I just feel like Deontay’s coming to a stage in his career where he’s realistic and he doesn’t just want the fight but he needs it. So, I think that’s more realistic if I’m honest with you especially in the place where both are in our career.”
The 6-2, 234-pound Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs), 29, of Saginaw, Michigan, aims to ruin those plans. He got the fight with Joshua based on his performance in his most recent bout. Although he lost a majority decision to former title challenger and onetime Joshua knockout victim Dillian Whyte in November in London, many thought Franklin deserved to win the action-packed battle.
He appears to be in much better physical condition heading into the fight with Joshua than he was for the Whyte fight. He is also talking a big game.
“They’re probably looking at me like I’m a pushover or a walkover or something like that but they’re going to be in for a rude awakening,” Franklin said. “My performance against Dillian most definitely led to this fight. (Joshua) could have picked anybody that he wanted to but he chose me. Maybe he’s trying to prove to himself that he can do something to me that Dillian couldn’t. Who knows? I feel like I’m winning hands down at the end of the fight.
“Fans are going to see me come out and fight way better fight than the Dillian fight. It is time for people to take me seriously. This is my new dawn. It’s my time to make my claim. I want to knock his ass out, that’s the goal.”
Joshua’s responded to those comments.
“The more he talks, the bigger grave he digs for himself but it is what it is,” Joshua said. “I could say a lot of things about him but I respect my opponent. It is not for me to talk, it is for you to do all the talking and for me to do my job. I am not here to talk. I am here to do what I have to do because I really want to win.”
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AJ needs to show he's prepared to be a front foot wrecking machine again. Time will tell if he's still prepared to take a few to land the big one. As Hagler said, it's hard to get up in the morning when you sleep in silk sheets.
Joshua going 2 - 3 in his last 5 fights looks worse than it actually is imo. The 3 loses not being as bad as they seem.
Anyone who had followed Joshua's fights from his debut onwards could tell, just by looking at him, that he had something wrong with him before even stepping into the ring to fight Ruiz at MSG.
He said there had been a health problem when interviewed by Steve Bunce and Mike Costello after the Ruiz rematch win. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEiI5c2iUDY
However, Joshua didn't want to make it common knowledge because he said he didn't want to make excuses - a good example, that Ruiz didn't want to follow after losing the rematch.
In Joshua's other two loses he faced someone who was simply too fast and too skilled for him.
A fighter who could go down as an ATG. A fighter who had surprised Joshua, in their first fight, by making little effort against Witherspoon and Chisora to appear there for the taking.
BTW anyone who genuinely thinks Usyk's level of fitness and skills were exactly the same for the Witherspoon, Chisora & Joshua fights should probably follow another sport.
I like the combination of Derrick James and Joshua as there does appear to be similarities between Spence, the Charlo's and Joshua as fighters. Of course it will take several fights with his new trainer to see James' influence on AJ. However Joshua MUST beat Franklin tonight and probably needs to do it convincingly. If Joshua loses he said he will retire - which is the only reasonable course of action he'll have, unless the loss is due to a weird injury scenario.