Eddie Hearn has defended ticket sales for Anthony Joshua’s upcoming comeback bout against Jermaine Franklin at the 02 next month.
Images have been circulating online recently that show plenty of tickets still available for the heavyweight clash on April 1st, a stark contrast to the days where ‘AJ’ would sell out Wembley and the Millennium Stadium in a matter of weeks.
However, Hearn insisted to ID Boxing that the London venue will be sold out on the night – before seemingly taking a pop at Tyson Fury his stalling in negotiations to face Oleksandr Usyk.
“We’ve got a couple of thousand left, we haven’t given tickets out yet for the undercard. We’ll be completely full on the night.”
“At the end of the day, do you want to listen to bull****, or do you want to see a real fighter?”
“You’ll see Anthony Joshua back in action, with vengeance, at the 02 on April 1st.”
Joshua was once arguably the biggest star in the in the sport, and has become accustomed to filling out football stadiums whenever he fights on British shores.
However, many feel his popularity went on a steady decline after his loss to Andy Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden, and has nosedived as a result of back to back defeats to Usyk
Next month’s meeting with Franklin is without question crucial for Joshua, as defeat would almost certainly spell an end to any ambitions he may have of becoming a three time world heavyweight champion.
The American gave a respectable account of himself in defeat to Dillian Whyte last November, however Joshua still goes into the contest as wide betting favourite, and will be looking to make a statement against the ‘989 Assassin.’