Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin | DAZN - 1 April 2023

[Ruthless-RKO]

It's looks even more likely to be Franklin. He's due to receive a £800,000 purse.

AJ declined McKean, due to him being a southpaw.

[mickey1975]

It's looks even more likely to be Franklin. He's due to receive a £800,000 purse.

AJ declined McKean, due to him being a southpaw.

My prediction was, sadly, correct.

[Syntax Error]

Thankfully it isn't going to be McKean, that would have been embarrassing.

What's mildly baffling is that Joshua only rejected McKean on the basis that he's a southpaw, as opposed to him being an embarrassing opponent for a top 5 heavyweight that was the unified world champion as recently as 18 months ago.

[HomicideHenry]

Thankfully it isn't going to be McKean, that would have been embarrassing.

What's mildly baffling is that Joshua only rejected McKean on the basis that he's a southpaw, as opposed to him being an embarrassing opponent for a top 5 heavyweight that was the unified world champion as recently as 18 months ago.

Even more baffling when you consider that Joshua won the title from Charles Martin who is a southpaw. If indeed Joshua rejected fighting the Australian because he's a southpaw it kind of makes you wonder if indeed Joshua is responsible for never making the Fury fights happen considering Tyson Fury is a switch hitter.

[mickey1975]

Thankfully it isn't going to be McKean, that would have been embarrassing.

What's mildly baffling is that Joshua only rejected McKean on the basis that he's a southpaw, as opposed to him being an embarrassing opponent for a top 5 heavyweight that was the unified world champion as recently as 18 months ago.

Even more baffling when you consider that Joshua won the title from Charles Martin who is a southpaw. If indeed Joshua rejected fighting the Australian because he's a southpaw it kind of makes you wonder if indeed Joshua is responsible for never making the Fury fights happen considering Tyson Fury is a switch hitter.

AJ has lost a lot of confidence since the Martin fight. He is a shadow of his former self.

[The Gratest]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Thankfully it isn't going to be McKean, that would have been embarrassing.

What's mildly baffling is that Joshua only rejected McKean on the basis that he's a southpaw, as opposed to him being an embarrassing opponent for a top 5 heavyweight that was the unified world champion as recently as 18 months ago.

Even more baffling when you consider that Joshua won the title from Charles Martin who is a southpaw. If indeed Joshua rejected fighting the Australian because he's a southpaw it kind of makes you wonder if indeed Joshua is responsible for never making the Fury fights happen considering Tyson Fury is a switch hitter.

AJ has lost a lot of confidence since the Martin fight. He is a shadow of his former self.

it was since the Ruiz loss.

[BigDoofus]

It's looks even more likely to be Franklin. He's due to receive a £800,000 purse.

How much for the rematch clause?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Anthony Joshua agrees a deal to face American Jermaine Franklin at the O2 in April

Sportsmail can exclusively reveal that Anthony Joshua has agreed to face American heavyweight Jermaine Franklin at the O2 on April 1.

Joshua has not stepped foot in the ring since his second-successive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in August 2022 - having lost his WBA, WBO and IBF belts to the Ukrainian mastermind in September last year.

However, Sportsmail can confirm that Joshua will face Franklin - who trained alongside Tyson Fury in the build-up to his showdown with Dillian Whyte in November 2022.

Joshua and Franklin have agreed on the financials for the fight and will sign the final paperwork later this afternoon.

The fight between the two heavyweight boxers will take place in the United Kingdom at the O2 Arena on April 1.

Joshua will be looking to reassert his dominance in the heavyweight division, while Franklin will be looking to bounce back after his defeat to Whyte in November 2022.

oshua looked set to face Fury in December but negotiations between the two British boxers collapsed in October after the Gypsy King grew frustrated with how long AJ's team were taking to sign the contract.

AJ was disappointed to see the deal fall through as they had made good progress - having agreed on the financial terms of the fight, splitting the purse 60/40 in the favour of the WBC champion.

The pair had also named the Principality Stadium in Cardiff as the chosen location and agreed on the TV rights - which were said to be stumbling block. However, it wasn't meant to be.

AJ was then linked to unbeaten Australian heavyweight Demsey McKean as the southpaw called for the fight after he won the IBF Intercontinental heavyweight belt last October.

However, Sportsmail can confirm that Joshua will take on Franklin instead. He will face the American heavyweight at the O2 Arena on April 1.

Franklin went toe-to-toe with Dillian Whyte in November 2022. However, it was the British boxer that emerged victorious with a majority decision after their 12-round contest at Wembley Arena.

Franklin felt as though he had been 'robbed' - with Michael Alexander scoring their bout level at 115-115 while Juergen Landos and Grzegorz Molenda scored the fight 116-112 in favour of Whyte.

Speaking after the fight, Franklin said: 'I felt like I got robbed. I felt like I did enough to get the decision. I felt like I won the earlier rounds. I just felt like I got robbed on the decision.'

The American was disappointed to have lost the fight considering he entered the ring with a professional record of 21 wins, 0 loses and 0 draws, having knocked out 14 of his 21 opponents.

However, Eddie Hearn - who was ringside along with Joshua - defended the judges' decision, but admitted that he understands why others scored the bout in favour of Franklin.

Speaking after the fight, Hearn said: 'I thought Dillian won the championship rounds to win the fight by a round, maybe two rounds. I can see a draw, and when it is 115-113 I can see it the other way as well. So I don't blame people for thinking Franklin might've nicked the fight because it was a very close fight.'

But despite acknowledging that the bout could have gone either way, Hearn was adamant that Whyte's victory did not constitute a robbery.

'It's not a robbery at all. It was a very close fight. I feel it was 115-113 to Whyte. I can see a draw. Can I see 115-113 to Franklin? Not really, but maybe… Anyone who says that's a robbery is thick as s*** in all honesty.'

Franklin is eager to prove himself against Joshua and promoter Dmitriy Salita is confident he can pull off an upset.

'Joshua, coming off two losses, changing trainers, is vulnerable,' Salita said. 'Let's be honest. Jermaine realizes it. He feels like he has his own future and path. He's ready to go out there and score the upset. Some feel like it could be an upset, and some don't.

'But Jermaine's going out there looking to score the win. After, he wants the rematch with Dillian Whyte, and then he wants to fight the winner of [Tyson] Fury vs. Usyk.'

[funso banjo baby]

This seems dull

[unknownman79]

DAZN changing the game. PPV with a shot Whytes cast offs.

[DrDuke]

Franklin is a stiff. He was awarded a win over Jerry Forrest and wasn't able to pull out a victory over the underprepared Whyte. If Joshua doesn't win big, it'll be a bad sign for him.

[Ruthless-RKO]

DAZN changing the game. PPV with a shot Whytes cast offs.

We thought he'd fight the winner of Whyte/Franklin. Not the loser

[DrDuke]

DAZN changing the game. PPV with a shot Whytes cast offs.

We thought he'd fight the winner of Whyte/Franklin. Not the loser

None of the two deserved a shot against such marketable fighter after their sh1tfest.

[mickey1975]

DAZN need to step up. Sky showed on Saturday night that they are still the number one in this country. By a distance when they get it right.

[garethhop]

No problem with the fight.

However, the rest of the year will be Whyte in a stadium and a fight that can get him a mandatory or vacant shot in 2023.

We need to see something much more from Whyte in his next fight to get excited for the summer imo.

[gilgamesh]

Joshua going as soft as possible for his comeback fight. Probably a good idea for him considering I think he only really has 1 more big fight in him.

I don't think AJ is physically shot, but he seems to be mentally burnt out. He can get his mind right possibly, but I don't look for him to do it anytime real soon. Especially if they keep throwing him to the wolves.

[joshj909]

Joshua going as soft as possible for his comeback fight. Probably a good idea for him considering I think he only really has 1 more big fight in him.

I don't think AJ is physically shot, but he seems to be mentally burnt out. He can get his mind right possibly, but I don't look for him to do it anytime real soon. Especially if they keep throwing him to the wolves.

Although softer, an undefeated McKean arguably would've sold better to the casuals. He could destroy an ill-prepared and very soft Miller which could sell well.

[gilgamesh]

Joshua going as soft as possible for his comeback fight. Probably a good idea for him considering I think he only really has 1 more big fight in him.

I don't think AJ is physically shot, but he seems to be mentally burnt out. He can get his mind right possibly, but I don't look for him to do it anytime real soon. Especially if they keep throwing him to the wolves.

Although softer, an undefeated McKean arguably would've sold better to the casuals. He could destroy an ill-prepared and very soft Miller which could sell well.

Considering this is April 1st, I don't see why he couldn't smash this McKean guy in June or whatever, and then maybe look for something bigger after

[Nightmare Roy]

Joshua going as soft as possible for his comeback fight. Probably a good idea for him considering I think he only really has 1 more big fight in him.

I don't think AJ is physically shot, but he seems to be mentally burnt out. He can get his mind right possibly, but I don't look for him to do it anytime real soon. Especially if they keep throwing him to the wolves.

Although softer, an undefeated McKean arguably would've sold better to the casuals. He could destroy an ill-prepared and very soft Miller which could sell well.

Considering this is April 1st, I don't see why he couldn't smash this McKean guy in June or whatever, and then maybe look for something bigger after

That'll be when he fights Whyte, big stadium fight probably Wembley

[gilgamesh]

Although softer, an undefeated McKean arguably would've sold better to the casuals. He could destroy an ill-prepared and very soft Miller which could sell well.

Considering this is April 1st, I don't see why he couldn't smash this McKean guy in June or whatever, and then maybe look for something bigger after

That'll be when he fights Whyte, big stadium fight probably Wembley

I honestly think that'd be a smart path for him in 2023. 3 fights maybe culminating in a Whyte rematch. It'd get him back into the winners column with a bit of consistency, and make a big fight with him meaningful again.

[joshj909]

Considering this is April 1st, I don't see why he couldn't smash this McKean guy in June or whatever, and then maybe look for something bigger after

That'll be when he fights Whyte, big stadium fight probably Wembley

I honestly think that'd be a smart path for him in 2023. 3 fights maybe culminating in a Whyte rematch. It'd get him back into the winners column with a bit of consistency, and make a big fight with him meaningful again.

If Ruiz turns down the interim IBF title shot against Hrgovic for the WBC eliminator Vs Wilder then Joshua (#4) would be up next against Hrgovic. Not sure if they'd skip over him considering he just lost but Hrgovic would make a fortune in that fight as the #1 in an IBF eliminator Vs AJ (60% of the purse I think, perhaps 50% as this could be considered a vacant title). That could mean either Franklin-Hrgovic-Whyte or something similar for the year, maybe Franklin-Whyte-Hrgovic with Hrgovic facing someone else in the mean time.

[veriton]

Looks like I'm alone in this but quite like this fight as a comeback. Franklin isn't a patsy, he's a black Otto Wallin

[cormack]

DAZN need to step up. Sky showed on Saturday night that they are still the number one in this country. By a distance when they get it right.

LOL

they got lucky with the KO upset .
The rest of it wasnt much to write home about .

[KiwiRider]

This seems dull

Shut up and pay for it!
PPV baby
Guaranteed crap undercard too.