Topic: [POLL] Heavyweight Boxing 1st April 2023: Joshua vs Franklin (Read 474 times)

You are right, Joshua is the one who is going to take the title of the most popular boxer in the world. He is one of the best boxers in the world and
 
I don't know what to say about Joshua, but it is obvious that he is a very good boxer.n easy to get to the ring. He 
 
The only thing that I can say is that Joshua is a very good boxer, but he is not a good boxer.

Wallin gave Fury huge problems when they fought and lost on what many deem to be a dubious points decision but nevertheless Fury was the winner. I think Wallin spoke the truth and many agree with him. Joshua simply cannot get the physical and mental side of his boxing to balance when he fights ever since Ruiz destroyed him with that devastating win.

I cannot work out why Joshua feels pressure, it is not as though he is the greatest heavyweight ever. He is an average boxer with average technical skills. I do remember his once saying he wanted to earn a billion from boxing but that was when he was world champion. Even a blockbuster unification with Fury would not have given him more than maybe $70-$80 million from the fight purse but could the fact that he knows his retirement is near (and his opportunities for pocketing millions are diminishing) playing a part in his mental ability when fights?

Is that new version of Joshua ready to fight Gipsy King ? I think not, however AJ called Fury next I would say directly - I am not impressed with AJ performance. I expected an early finish, as Franklin imho is not on the same level with Joshua (but turns out that AJ isnt on top level anymore). Imho, AJ must finish such opponents as Frankling with a KO. AJ was bigger (extremely bigger that night), had height and reach advantage, experience, but did a lot of clinching and jabs.

It seems the observation is unanimous that Joshua is now even more afraid to take risks. He is not really a risk-taker inside the ring to begin with, but ever since he was humiliated under the hands of a chubby fighter from Mexico, he slowed down a lot. Although he was able to take vengeance, it couldn't really bring him back all the lost confidence. He got back at Ruiz with a UD in their rematch but he was knocked out in the middle of the fight in their first match.

Some headlines say Joshua is back. But he's only winning against fighters of Jermaine's caliber. Fury would easily dismantle him. Wilder would also put him to sleep.

^^ And so everyone is calling Joshua now, after that bad performance, hehehe.

I mean not just casual fans, but everyone see how Joshua doesn't want to pull the trigger and are fearful to throw that power because he is thinking that he might be countered by Franklin. And so Joshua is now being criticized by anyone, because he didn't went after him and score the knockout for a more impressive win. So this is a different version of Joshua that might give everyone a good opportunity to expose by just like B-level Heavyweight contender. Perhaps it was the pressure on his shoulder as his career is on the line. Another lost will be the end of it.

And we can say that even if Joshua win this fight, it was a lousy performance on his side. As you have said, we expect more from him, not just taking a win, but it should be like a statement, he even admitted that he should have knockout Franklin in the post fight interview and he didn't.

Otto Wallin put in perfectly in this tweet,


https://twitter.com/OttoWallin/status/1642292615692402688

At the way Joshua is fighting he does not deserve to share a ring with Fury, it is that simple.

Usyk has nothing to prove because he defeated Joshua twice, they will never fight again. As for Fury (regardless of why his fight with Joshua never happened) he will never give Joshua an opportunity to fight him now. The best Joshua can hope for is to try to get a fight with Whyte, Wilder or Joyce. For me, Wilder will knock him out. As for Joyce and Whyte, I think Joshua  will struggle to beat either of them.

Believe me, even you watched the fight in HD you would not be missing much 

Joshua seems way past his best and in my opinion his best was simply just about good enough to beat a 41 year old Klitschko when Joshua himself was just 27 years old.

I watched the fight on my iPhone on a crappy stream. I expected more from Joshua to be honest, I know he won, he was the better fighter in most rounds but I expected a more explosive performance. He’s going to have to be much, much better if he’s even thinking about fighting Fury or even trying to get a 3rd Usyk fight.

Indeed, Anthony Joshua's win against Franklin today was expected by many, so it came as no surprise at all to very many who followed the match.
And I agree with you though, Anthony Joshua vs Tyson fury would be an interesting fight to watch, and I would also bet that Joshua wont have a chance, but even if such a match is going to happen, now is not the best time for it, as I personally believe that Joshua is yet to heal from the defeat he suffered from his previous fight, he wouldn't even dare to accept such a proposal in my own personal opinion.

Oleksandr Usyk already defeated Anthony Joshua twice and now that match up is over as there wont be a rubber match with two looses and Tyson Fury is the best boxer in this generation and Joshua will not stand a chance against him, the other opponents for Anthony Joshua that would create interest is Deontay Wilder and it will be a great fight for the fans and their future.

I was never impressed with Anthony Joshua but it was expected for him to win this fight against Franklin, I even predicted it would be win with points as unanimous decision, and I won reward from Sportsbet
What is more exciting for me is potential fight between Joshua and Tyson Fury, and I want Fury to finally kick his ass and shut his mouth.
Fury is better in all areas except is body figure, but that brings zero points in boxing, maybe Joshua should do some modeling  

It will be good for Joshua to fight Fury. That would give him a nice paycheck. And he's already made it clear that he's mainly after the "money, money, money."

I think there have been opinions from boxing pundits that Joshua is not somebody who is really a feared heavyweight warrior. I sort of agree. His name is actually way bigger than his accomplishments or his boxing performance and skills. His résumé is lacking. To be quite frank, he has not really made a name by beating all the seemingly insurmountable odds. It was more or less smooth sailing for him. Some are even implying that Joshua is kind of babied all the way to the championship. Indeed, he's always been fighting in his own backyard. The first time he left his home court, he was knocked out.

He is probably built through the hype, he got a win against Klitscho but it was no way the best version because he is already way past his prime but Joshua is just climbing up in the ranks. So few more fights for him and he make a good name already.

But facing a power puncher in Ruiz, Joshua was taken by surprised and from then on, he was not the same anymore.

Yes, I would agree that he is not good enough to be a world champion again. Might be good for him to fight Fury, maybe after that he can retire, just for all the British fight and that's it for him.

Boxing is a sport that's all about skill and heart. It takes a unique person to get in that ring, knowing that one punch can change it all. Anthony Joshua knows this better than anyone. After two losses to Usyk, he came back with a solid win over Franklin. It wasn't the knockout fans wanted, but it showed his technique and grit.

Deontay Wilder is still a big deal in the heavyweight world. His powerful knockouts make him super scary, and even with two losses to Fury, he's a tough opponent. They say styles create battles. If Joshua and Wilder fought, it would be a mix of Joshua's accuracy and Wilder's strength. It'd be amazing to watch these giants compete, but as a fan, I'm a bit worried for Joshua. Wilder's one-punch KO is serious business!

Glad to see AJ win this fight after a while. Though I know this is not his best fight but it is going to serve as a confidence boost to build up momentum for the next fight.

Not his best fight though but an important win for him. He needs something that is lacking  - that killer instinct. AJ is never going to face Usyk , Joyce, Fury, like this. They will take him to the cleaners.

I need him to not be like his old self but be better than his old self. In his next match, I need to see more follow up punches, more aggression. Looking forward to the Dillian fight. That's going to be the real test.

I am quite disappointed with Joshua, he was never the most talented or the best but he always found a way to win until Ruiz knocked him out. After that defeat he was never the same again even though he won on points in the rematch. When was the last last time Joshua won by KO rather than TKO? A quick search shows just 5 KOs over his 28 career fight record.

Can we all admit he simply is not good enough to be taken seriously as a world champion contender?

Yeah! right after all it was a good win for Anthony Joshua and though he was struggling to knock out his opponent, he managed to win the fight and get ready for his next big one most boxer come from a lost fight have a hard chance to win a fight again but this time we saw that he was determined to win and wants to continue to pursue his career. Though this era of boxing has lots of dramas going on in any weight division, he better gets that next fight with some good contender again to further expand his record and boost his popularity even more.

In his interview, he said that it would be an honor for him to fight Fury because that's what the fans wanted, and he wants it as well. I mean if Fury wanted to give him the fight then the best possible date that these 2 might face with each other will be on summer.

Anyway, congratulations to Joshua in winning against Franklin. Unfortunately, I didn't watch the full game for some personal reasons, but I did watched the highlights. Right hooks, right straights, lots of uppercuts, and I thought that Franklin will get knocked down on the 10th and the 11th because of the barrage of shots made by Joshua. Anyway, a Unanimous Decision win for him, and a good comeback win after losing 2 straight fights to Usyk.

As for Wilder, even though he got defeated by Fury twice, I agree that he still possess that deadly and strong punch that will make his opponents knocked out. Like you said, outside Fury, all of his opponents got knocked out when facing him. Joshua Vs. Wilder? I'm afraid Wilder might just demolish him because of that one-punch KO.

Franklin chin is strong that's why AJ was having a hard time not cracking that chin. It's hard to compare the two though, Wilder power might be in-born and he just train to improved it. While AJ with that huge power, was relying on mechanics on how to throw a perfect punch to knockout anyone.


Yeah, but think about it, if Fury is asking for a 70/30 split in his favor against Usyk who has the majority of the belt, what his going for a All British showdown with AJ who doesn't have any bargaining power at this point? 75/25? And what are the chance of him accepting it? So for now I doubt that we will see Fury vs AJ, in my opinion.

Not impressive at all compared to Wilder's comeback fight that establish him right away as a big contender with that devastating first-round knockout of Helenius, I just watched half of the fight and was looking for Joshua to knock out Franklin but it never came, but it still a good win somehow it will get his motivation back that he still got it.
Hearns can make the Fury - Joshua fight this is the best time to do it, although Fury has the upper hand and edge still the world, and the British fans want to see both of them inside the ring.
Let's see in the coming months who he will fight he needs to fight top-ranked fighters and that includes Wilder.

It seems Joshua is still mentally scarred from the loss to Ruiz because after that fight he fails to deliver the knockout or knockdown punches, almost as though he is scared of getting hit back harder than he gave.

On the basis of the fight I just saw, I think Fury and Usyk would beat Joshua quite easily. Joshua simply does not frighten opponents any more and bot Fury and Usyk are far more superior in boxing terms than Joshua.

It's because Wilder still possesses that one punch knockout, which is still very scary. Who ever he touches, not name Fury, are going to go down hard. As opposed to Joshua who changes or a bit hesitant to pull the trigger after his first lost to Andy Ruiz. And then he switches coaches one after another that affected his style and then back to back lost to Usyk.

Probably this fight against Franklin that he won is just a tune up fight for him. Just to get back that confidence to be in the ring again and beat someone. And that 2 losses against Usyk really took a toll on him mentally. And if he chases Wilder next? I will go with Wilder and Joshua might be knockout for good and stay in the canvass. Wilder is still one of the heaviest hitting in the Heavyweight division right now.

Basing on this fight, i don't think he is ready to face Usyk or Fury because to me it seems he lacks confidence needed to at least get the respect of his opponents. But if a fight with either Fury or Usyk will happen in the future then for sure that would be a blockbuster but I definitely put my money on his opponents that time around.

I think he needs more than one good fight, Joshua totally dominated Franklin, and Joshua's killing instinct is still there but not dangerous anymore he didn't even score a knockdown, a fight with Wilder should be made right away, both coming from back to back loses and a Wilder fight will determine who should move forward to have another crack at the title, they are both in a similar situations coming from two back to back losses than winning after those back to back losses but Wilder's comeback is more impressive.

It is all over after 12 rounds. The judges scored the fight: 118-111, 117-111 and 117-111 in favour of Joshua.

Franklin was no push over, he tried to win the fight but in the end stopped Joshua from knocking him out and lost the fight on a points decision.

Could Joshua seriously be back on the road to redemption?

The fight goes ahead this weekend. The last time Joshua won in the boxing ring was 2020 and he has to admit time is running out of he has any chance of getting back any of the championship belts he lost to Usyk.

If he beats Franklin he steps closer to having a chance at redemption otherwise defeat on Saturday would mean his career would probably be over.

That's what most gamblers think, and that's why we have those odds. If you think of it, Joshua has better chances, and you presented some good points on why. Betting on the underdog always involves hoping for something unexpected to happen. But if you turned out to be right, you are rewarded with a good multiplier of your bet.

That's what the majority of us here thinks when Joshua fought Andy Ruiz, Ruiz is actually a late replacement for Miller but look what happened, it became the biggest upset in the history of boxing after the Tyson - Douglas match
I'm not ruling out an upset here, Joshua's mindset and motivation are questionable and we have one here hungry for attention with nothing to lose.
I don't want to entertain the idea of Joshua suffering his third loss, because I'm still excited to see a Wilder - Joshua or  Fury - Joshua fights, but somehow Joshua must find a way to get up he should start somewhere and his only ticket is this fight.

I think JollyGood is playing devils advocate because Franklin has a good record but he has not fought any one with a big name he has never been tested and he is the average boxer that gets given cans to build a career. He has a strong punch but every heavyweight has a strong punch. Franklin does not move much and his speed is average. Joshua is fast for a heavyweight and has some of the best power in the heavyweight division. If you compare the names on each boxers record then Joshua has fought the harder opponents. Franklin has barely fought any one that a casual boxing fan will know. I think Joshua makes it look easy and knocks Franklin out. He does not move and he is not faster then Joshua while Joshua has a good record against lower tier boxers and almost knocks them out every time.

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Yes, absolutely. Franklin has only one loss in his career, and it was his latest fight 3 months ago. More than anything he wants wants to prove to the world that the last time he lost by accident. So, his motivation is strong enough, and he's in a great shape too. As I said earlier, I admire your betting on the underdog. And I think you have a good chance to win. Definitely more than 15% chance, as it might seem from the odds.

I even placed a bet on Franklin inspired by what you wrote here.



Let's hope Jermaine Franklin won't let us down.

He should be, the hardest for a boxer is having two losses in a row, Wilder already overcome this with an impressive performance against Helenius, so he is back on track, now Joshua should find a way to win as impressively as possible so he can back on track and maybe set up a meeting against Wilder since they have the same fate losing to the same fighter two in a row.
It may not be appealing anymore because both are not champions anymore but this fight should be made to rekindle the rivalry between the two, but first Joshua must hurdle Franklin first, anything will be possible for Joshua if he wins.

This feels like a sub par fight here.  Both are on the higher end of the hw draws but there just isn't the fighters in he like there used to be.  The weight class needs a new Tyson, holy field, Lewis, etc.  Not one of these boxers is captivating enough to move the need on entertainment value.  Just not the way it used to be.

It feels like a lot of people are cheering for Joshua to win merely because he is currently seen as the "underdog" after having had his bad fight (luck?) streak. But can we really be sure that this has something to do with luck or is Joshua merely starting to give up?

I would not feel confident, betting on him, because of his past "bad luck". But then again Franklin is not such a huge challenge either. So its a bit hard to tell who will win.

Not sure I want to risk betting on either on them at this point in time.

Like they say, this boxers all go into the ring looking prepared until something hits them and changes their game plan. I want to hope that Joshua will not expose his flanks for body shots or let down his hands as he often does when he thinks he is having an upper hand. Infact, his game plan should be on how to finish Franklin within the first 6 rounds without letting it go further. He should not rely on judges unanimous decision to win the bout. It may not favour him like it did in his rematch with Usyk.

Joshua seems too willing and eager to win this fight. He's into serious series of training because for sure, he doesn't want to miss the chance of proving himself more in this field again. I'm confident that Joshua could showcase his full strength in this match. Franklin despite being the underdog also shows his eagerness to take another title so I hope that Joshua would focus on seeing Franklin's weaknesses first.

My wish is for AJ to take this one so that it can restore his confidence. The statistics favour him in the upcoming encounter and I hope he makes a bold statement with that match. Anything short of a TKO will not be good for his dwindling boxing career.


Fitness over age is the core thing in sports like boxing. Most times it is the younger boxers who ends up taking the shine off the more advanced ones. In terms of age the stats favour Jermaine Franklin age wise. But I want AJ to win.

It might be possible Franklin is thinking this but he does not have much to lose. It is a fight people expect him to lose so if he loses it does not make a difference to his career except he is not undefeated any more but I think the payday and the fame that comes with fighting someone like Joshua is worth sacrificing a 0 on his record. If he does manage to beat Joshua that does a lot for his career and would be his most notable win in his entire career I do not think he would beat any one as big as Joshua. I cannot see him fighting Fury or Usyk even if he wins though. Both of them are due to retire and I think Fury already has eyes on retirement because he has already attempted to do it. As soon as Fury beats Usyk he has achieved everything that he could because Joshua has already declined so much that he could not compete with Fury and Usyk is the only contender that he has not beat. He destroyed Wilder and Wilder is number 2 or 3 in the world.

Obviously, yes, this are big guys, over 200 lbs and so most likely they will get tired as the first progresses. Unless we will see knockout early, both will be tested in a full 12 rounds. Joshua is motivated to win here, as we have said, new coach and then if he losses, no more big paycheck for him in a Tyson Fury fight. On other hand, Franklin has everything to gain in this fight, so he is also looking for an upset.

Odds are there for a reason, that is the expected probability and so when sports bookies throw some numbers, they are not just guessing it. They are looking at other factors as well, so maybe for boxers it doesn't mean a thing. But for bettors, they will have to look at the odds if they wanted to win some money.

Is it possible that Franklin sees this the other way round to the way you see it and he thinks of this fight as putting him back on the track to a world title fight? If it applies to Joshua then it should apply to Franklin too, he has an equal right to think of this fight as an opportunity to redeem himself.

These are the main aspects of the records:

Franklin record is 21 consecutive wins before his most recent fight which was a loss standing at 21-1
Joshua has a dismal record of his previous five fights as W2 L3 . He had 22 consecutive wins before loss to Ruiz and consecutive losses to Usyk standing at 24-3

If Ruiz had not wildly partied and semi-trained in the run up to the Joshua rematch, I think he would have beaten Joshua again. He regretted it later when he was interviewed but if things had turned out differently it would have been Ruiz and Usyk battling it out with each other and the winner facing Fury in a unification fight.

Battle of stamina I guess. Reach would be a big factor to not be tired quickly; we are talking about heavy weight class. Both are heavy punchers but that won't mean a thing if they wouldn't be able to throw a hundred percent of their strength. I'd I guess go for Franklin on this one. Indeed Joshua has more fights which means experience but I believe franklin would be more eager with this match up. This would be a big break for Franklin which I think would be his 'gas' to be victorious over joshua. Odds won't mean a thing once the bell ring. The outcome will solely depend on the player and his condition. Both are having serious preparations.

Although it seems Franklin has nothing to lose here, it is actually a huge opportunity for him to defeat Joshua. Joshua is coming from a back-to-back loss and Franklin is coming from his one and only loss which is controversial. Franklin will have to grab this opportunity not only to recover from his majority decision loss but also to make a bigger name by defeating Joshua. Joshua may not anymore be as shining as he once was but he's still popular. And Franklin is young. He could still climb up the ladder in the heavyweight division.

If I remember it right, Usyk was the favorite and Joshua the underdog the second time they fought.


Stats don't mean everything. If you look closer, Franklin hasn't really accomplished much despite his previously undefeated record.

It is still possible an upset could happen. If you think of that possibility and the betting odds of it, a small bet on Franklin may be good.

I case he wins, I wonder who he will face next ? Fury? I would say that it will be a suicide mission. Wilder - probably a nice challenge for him. Have a third fight against Usyk? Dont think he is ready for that, as he has showed two identical fights. Imho he did not make much conclusion from their first fight and did same in second. Third fight wont bring anything new. Face someone, who used to be good (like Chisora). I think he wont get much of an experience from such a fight, only a pay check.

I would not risk placing a bet in such a match. Wont win much from 1.08 bet, but as they are heavyweight, chance to lose money is higher than usual. Who knows what kind of boxer AJ now. Franklin can pull an upset, like Ruiz did several years ago.

Losing 2 consecutive bouts is a big disappointment already for the boxer, but to losing three straight especially to a boxer who like you said is an average boxer is very traumatizing to him.

He is starting to make a comeback after losing the belts to Usyk. As for the odds, Joshua is 1.08 while Franklin is 7.20 base on Stake. Not an attractive one, but if somebody wants to bet on the match, it will be how long the match will be. On stake, it is Under/Over 7.5 and Joshua has 22 of his 24 wins coming from KO so, maybe betting under 7.5 might be a good bet, but it may change anyway. I hope he can recover on his recent losses.

I'll go for Joshua this time since he really needs this fight and he needs to win it to regain his honor, more likely he has prepared than ever before. If he successfully beat Franklin then he will gonna be a step closer to fighting a more worthy opponent because he can still do it and he still has the chance to be a champion again. All he needs to do is to prove to everyone that he still got the power punches that he used to knock out his opponents in the past. I'm rooting for him to bounce and give him my vote in this fight.

That seems to be the problem with AJ, after Ruiz took his 0, he seems to change his style and no longer the aggressive type of boxer we all know of him. That's why he knocks people with his power. Not sure who advises him to be like that, he is not a technical boxer, he is more of a brawler type of fighters.


Having a new coach might help, but as the saying goes, "you can't teach old dogs, new trick".

And when Joshua is hit on the face, he will go and revert back to being apprehensive again.

And the quality of opponents that Joshua face though in the past, just imagine if Franklin faces some of them, for sure he might be knockout cold by this fighters. We might say that Franklin chances are very slim, but if he has nothing to lose then probably he will try to go for an upset, or he himself getting knockout by Joshua's power. I think Joshua possesses the power when he was still in the beginning. He might be gun shy though and being reluctant because he doesn't want the same outcome as his first lost to Andy Ruiz.

Like almost everyone else here, I think Joshua is going to win. I mean, apart from the odds and stuff, look at the poster of the event: the two faces looking at us. Doesn't it feel like Jermaine Franklin knows he's going to lose the fight? Also, recently Franklin said he is "going to aim for a knockout victory", which, in my opinion, means he is counting on luck. That is not the best mindset before the fight, if you ask me.

But I really admire your expecting Franklin to win. I love betting on the underdogs myself.

Actually not a nobody based on the stats above you can see that their stats were close to each other, though we know that this match would be for Joshua but we can't just ignore the fact that he can still lose if he gets too comfortable or too much confidence. The odds were actually in favor of Joshua but there's no harm placing a little bet to Franklin after all that was a x7 win.

Somewhat I agree with OP I know where his analysis comes from, boxing is not only a physical sport its also a mindset sport, for a boxer it's hard to accept that you are on top of the world and then you lose back-to-back this will question your level of skill, this is the reason why Joshua keeps changing his trainers, he needs to find the missing link to get back in contention.
Franklin knows that he has nothing to lose here and he knows that Joshua's motivation is at its lowest he already has a peek or insight into how Joshua lost those fights to fighters that were considered underdogs when they fought.
Fights could go either way, I like to make predictions a few days before they fight, probably in their press conferences, where we can see Joshua's appearance and motivation in this fight.

I don't agree with OP that this is a very close fight. This is a Joshua fight. Although Franklin has a decent record, it's just a record. He's not a star. I think this is a way for Joshua to redeem himself. He's given an easy opponent this time around. He could still be defeated of course especially if his back to back losses are still in his head, but he is fighting against a nobody. Joshua should be 100% ready for this fight and be able to knock Franklin out cold.

Franklin is the underdog and has been given little chance to defeat Joshua by the bookies but this will not be a walk in the park for Joshua. Franklin is eyeing the same prize that Fury and Usyk have their own eyes on therefore he will be looking for a victory rather than get in the ring for the money.

After what Ruiz did to Joshua by knocking him out, he was never the same boxer again. You are right Joshua will never underestimate any opponent again and he will not look at the Whyte vs Franklin fight and think he will win easily. The way I see it if Franklin wins he will get back on track for a chance to fight for a title but that would spell the end of Joshua as a professional boxer. Joshua has to win otherwise his career will probably be over.

Just that's what I thought in this fight, Joshua really needs to make a statement win against Franklin and in doing so will build his confidence. So it's a good choice of opponent by Eddie Hearn.

And speaking of new coach, it will be Derrick James, the trainer of Jermell Charlo - 154 lbs unified champion and Errol Spence Jr, 3 belt holder in the welterweight division. So James has a lot of experience and hopefully this marriage will produce Joshua a win that he needed right now at this point of his career.


The Fury vs Usyk might have been done, sealed and delivered already, most likely it's just the venue, Middle East or London. But then again, to insert Joshua's name, he need this win big time and hopefully he can deliver a knockout win and improved his chances a huge payday against Tyson Fury.

Joshua is still looking for the right formula to get him back on the right track we'll see what the new coach will bring in this fight, Joshua badly needs a win, the impression of him by the boxing community is he is a sour loser and a frustrated fighter who wants to get back on top, I don't think Franklin is a cherry-picked fight, the guy can punch has a good record can go all out because he has nothing to lose while Joshua could lose everything in this fight.
I'll pick Joshua to win the fight he still has it because he is still young.

No way Franklin is going to win that. I bet he wont be able to jump above his head this time. He was recently beaten by Whyte (even though it was a close fight), and before that he had only experience of fighting "not big start". This is the fight between pro and average boxer. Franklin is not even a top5 of heavyweights. This looks more not a boxing fight, but Joshua's managers attempt to save AJ career. AJ needs an easy fight to recover mentally after two straight losses.

He is now under a new coach if I'm not mistaken, it was just a one and done deal with Robert Garcia in the second Ruiz fight. And obviously, it didn't work on there way and so Joshua hires another good.

Not sure though if this is a good way for him to changing coaches.

But let's see Franklin knows that he is going to be a huge underdog and he need to win by KO, judges might not favor him.

We should see a different Joshua he will never look at any opponent lightly again after the Ruiz loss and Usyk back to back losses where he is the favorite to win in those matches, he is always the favorite but looking at this fight Franklin can deliver an upset but he is nowhere the skill of Usyk, Joshua should take this fight very seriously another loss and it will dash all hopes to get back on top and we may never see the most awaited Fury - Joshua or even the Wilder - Joshua match.
Joshua is still young and can still make a lot of great fights but he should start somewhere and this is it.

He certainly cannot. I do not know what is controversial about him losing to Whyte he did not perform well on the night and Whyte took advantage of that. Joshua is going to knock him out and I see this as a confidence builder for Joshua because he is on a losing streak and does not look the same fighter that he was. This is a attempt to salvage something from his career by feeding him a not well known fighter who has a good record but his record is inflated check who he has fought against and they are mostly unknown journey men that are not significant. Joshua finds his knock out power against Franklin and then Eddie Hearn can try and sell a Joshua to who ever wins out of Fury vs Usyk. It will be the last big pay day for Hearne with Joshua and I see why they are doing this warm up fight. I will not be watching as I think this is a tune up fight and Franklin has a very small chance of winning.

I think this move confirms the fury vs usyk bout because Joshua is now out of sight and has a fight. Fury and Usyk can get all the final deals done and they can finally fight. Winner takes Joshua and I think that is how they are going to sell this fight. Franklin is a good boxer but we is no where near the top 5 of boxing and should not be fighting the likes of Usyk or Joshua it is only because Joshua has lose a few fights in a row that they need to rescue his career. Franklin is the fall man and I am not saying he will go down easy but he is no match for Joshua.

And for reference, the current odds as per Stake:



So Franklin is 7:1 underdog, and I don't know if he can pull an upset here. This is a must win for Joshua if he still have this plan of an All-British showdown with Tyson Fury in the future. As he has said previously, his motivation is money so he must be motivated here so that he can book the biggest payday of his career before he retires. So I think the pressure is on Joshua's shoulder, but I think he can overcome Franklin with a big statement and morale booster win.

Reserved

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After suffering back to back defeats by Usyk and losing all his world titles in the process, Joshua is starting to make a comeback. Franklin had a perfect win record until he was defeated in a controversial points decision by Whyte in November 2022.

The fight takes place on 1st April 2023 at the O2 Arena in London. This will be an interesting fight because Joshua could make it three consecutive losses and Franklin could make it back to back defeats for himself. Both boxers have a lot at stake in the fight.

A fully fit and focused Joshua should win the fight even if it goes to a points decision but Franklin has the tools to cause an upset. This will be a very close fight and I am expecting Franklin to win it and cause Joshua to reconsider his career because he probably did not recover after losing to Usyk twice.

The bottom line is this, Franklin can afford to lose this fight and still continue as a professional boxer but if Joshua loses it will be almost impossible for him to be taken seriously again.








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