Anthony Joshua returned to winning ways with a unanimous points victory over Jermaine Franklin at London’s O2 Arena. The British heavyweight, 33, controlled the contest against the durable American but it was not the explosive early finish many expected. Two judges scored it 117-111 and one 118-111 to Joshua. Tempers flared after the final bell as the two fighters squared up to each other, prompting their teams to enter the ring and be separated by security.
It was Joshua’s first win in more than two years, having lost consecutive bouts to WBA (Super), IBF and WBO world champion Oleksandr Usyk. Despite an underwhelming performance, Joshua is keen on a match-up with Tyson Fury. “I would be honoured to fight for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world,” Joshua said. “If he’s listening, he knows my promoter, we’ve had dialogue before, so let’s continue this. We ain’t getting any younger.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn added: “There may be an opportunity to do the Tyson Fury fight next. If it is there, it’ll be difficult for AJ not to take it. He may think he will never get it. The sensible thing is to have another fight with Derrick James to improve; Dillian Whyte is a great option. The first fight was epic. It is all about timing. Money? Not so much, but he is looking at big fights.”
Joshua returned to the O2 Arena – once a fortress for the Watford fighter – after seven years. His seven previous fights at the venue ended inside the distance, but this was not vintage Joshua. A boisterous sellout crowd, including popstar Liam Payne and journalist Louis Theroux, were in attendance, eager to see whether Joshua – still one of the biggest names in British boxing – remained a force in the division.
Away fighter Franklin – who earlier travelled on the London underground to the arena due to traffic – entered the ring first to huge jeers. Joshua followed, marching to the ring with a look of determination. He started strongly, taking the centre of the ring and doubling up on the jab to pierce Franklin’s guard, with quick feet to stay out of range of any advances. A thudding straight right got Franklin’s attention at the start of the second.
The Michigan fighter – who shed 23lbs since losing to Whyte – came out strong in the third, growing in confidence and showing he was not there to make up the numbers. Joshua landed a telegraphed uppercut from range in the fourth and both men found success in the fifth.
Franklin began to tire into the second half of the fight, Joshua landing a sharp hook on the inside. The two men stood their ground and exchanged glares after the bell in the seventh. But when the AJ of old would have pushed for a knockout, the fight instead became scrappy as both men were warned for holding in the ninth. Joshua enjoyed more success in the following round, stunning Franklin with a terrific uppercut. He grinned and, perhaps for the first time in the fight, the former unified heavyweight champion was reminiscent of his old self. A complacent Joshua was reminded of the danger Franklin poses, taking a couple of clean shots, but out-jabbed his opponent, who continued to clinch, in the final rounds.
In scenes not too dissimilar to his outburst when he lost to Ukrainian Usyk in August, Joshua once again allowed his frustration to get the better of him after the final bell. He tapped Franklin on the back of the head, who reacted and then AJ decided to wrestle with his opponent, before Franklin’s corner got involved. The melee continued outside the ring, pushing back the barriers separating the teams from media.
“Last time I grabbed the mic, it was a bit chaotic,” Joshua said afterwards. “I’m calm – I appreciate everyone coming out this evening. Inside the ring, it is a different energy so I apologise to those watching.”
The pressure was on for Joshua to win in style against a fringe world-level contender. Even ‘AJ’ himself said he needed to make a statement, but it was starting to look as if that would not be the case. Fans wanted to see the return of the old Joshua; the ferocious, ruthless combination puncher who stopped his first 20 opponents inside the distance. But the last time Joshua won in the first half of a fight was in 2016 against Eric Molina.
Unbeaten Fury’s last outing was a trilogy bout win over Derek Chisora in December. The Morecambe fighter will be looking for a high-profile opponent for his next fight. Joshua-Fury is arguably the most lucrative bout for both men. In terms of appeasing boxing fans, it would go a little way in clawing back some credibility for the sport after an undisputed fight between Fury and Usyk fell through.
Anthony Joshua returned victorious from his bout with Jermaine Franklin at London’s O2 Arena after two years without a win. The British heavyweight controlled the contest against his American opponent but failed to secure an explosive early finish as expected. Judges scored it 117-111 and 118-111 respectively in favour of Joshua, although tempers flared after the final bell as both fighters squared up and had to be separated by security.
Joshua expressed his disappointment at not achieving a knockout but called out fellow Briton and WBC champion Tyson Fury afterwards: “I try and provide for the fans. I know who they want. They said Tyson Fury – the ball is in his court.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn suggested that Fury could be Joshua’s next opponent: “There may be an opportunity to do the Tyson Fury fight next…It is all about timing.”
The bout at O2 Arena was Joshua’s first return after seven years and his seventh consecutive fight at the venue ending inside the distance, but this time it was not vintage ‘AJ’. A boisterous sellout crowd were eager to see whether Joshua remained a force in boxing, while away fighter Franklin entered to huge jeers before being met with a look of determination from Joshua.
The Michigan fighter had shed 23lbs since losing to Dillian Whyte and came out strong in round three, showing he was not there just to make up numbers. Both men found success in round five before Franklin began to tire into second half of fight and Joshua landed a sharp hook on inside.
Joshua enjoyed more success in following round, stunning Franklin with terrific uppercut before allowing his frustration to get better of him after final bell and wrestling with his opponent outside ring before being separated by security.
The pressure was on for Joshua to win in style against a fringe world-level contender and fans wanted return of old Joshua; ferocious combination puncher who stopped first 20 opponents inside distance. However, last time he won in first half of fight was 2016 against Eric Molina and this time it was not vintage ‘AJ’.
Unbeaten Tyson Fury’s last outing was trilogy bout win over Derek Chisora in December and he will be looking for high-profile opponent for next fight. Joshua-Fury is arguably most lucrative bout for both men and would go some way in clawing back credibility for sport after undisputed fight between Fury and Usyk fell through.