British boxer of Nigerian descent and former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s next boxing opponent has emerged.
The boxer is set to face America’s Jermaine Franklin as he makes his return to the boxing ring on April 1 at the 02 Arena in London and fans are already anticipating seeing the British-Nigerian triumph over the American in the bout.
Franklin lost for the first time in his heavyweight career after losing a hard-fought majority decision loss to Joshua’s rival, Dillian Whyte, which was the first defeat on the 29-year-old’s 22-fight record.
Recall that Joshua’s second world title reign was ended by a unanimous decision loss to Usyk in September 2021, while the Ukrainian retained the WBA, IBF, and WBO belts with a split decision victory in their rematch last August.
Talks are at an advanced stage for Usyk to share the ring with WBC king Tyson Fury in the next few months, while Joshua kicks off his career rebuild April 1.
Saleh Fawaz, CEO of Nigeria’s leading boxing promotional and management company, Saleh Gloves Promotions, told pressmen he believes the fight is perfect to get Joshua back on track and believes the 33-year-old can win the bout.
“It is a good fight. I didn’t think it was a good idea for him to jump into a huge opponent like (Deontay) Wilder, Fury, right away, so I think it is a good fight to get back into the ring and to try and get back to winning ways,”
“I am expecting Joshua to win the fight, but he should also respect Franklin, who fought Whyte last year and went the distance. Unlike Joshua, who only fought once last year, Franklin fought twice and had been inactive for two years. So, this is a sort of comeback for both of them, but Joshua, who knocked out Whyte should be able to beat him with his skillset and longer reach,” Fawaz said.
Joshua’s manager, Eddie Hearn, had previously hinted that a third consecutive loss could signal the end of Joshua’s career and Fawaz agrees with the promoter.
“Because of his losses and poor performances of recent, the ball is not in his court to get the next big fight and it will be all over for him if he loses this fight, even his promoter, Eddie Hearn, was saying that and it is true,” Fawaz added.