Ahead of an official announcement of his fight with Anthony Joshua, Jermaine Franklin has one thing on his mind.
The American heavyweight last visited UK shores in November of 2022, when he took Dillian Whyte the 12 round distance but ended up losing via unanimous decision.
Despite the loss, the formerly undefeated Franklin made a good account of himself, with quick hands and the ability to handle the main event as an away fighter.
That’s landed him with the ‘AJ’ fight – one which Joshua must win if he wants fans to take his goal of becoming three-time heavyweight world champion seriously.
Whilst promoter Eddie Hearn is adamant that the fight has not been signed off, there’s a press conference next week and it would be a huge shock if anybody other than Franklin was announced.
So much so that the heavyweight is already discussing the fight. He took to Twitter to confirm the date and tell fans he was coming for a knockout.
“Big news coming. One thing I have learned about boxing. Never let the judges decide the winner. April 1st, tell the judges to take the night off. We won’t need them. I don’t play boxing!!”
Franklin posted the statement alongside a video clip from his fight with Whyte – an exchange in which he gets the better of the Brit and has him on the ropes before the bell sounds to end the round.
Big news coming. One thing I have learned about boxing. Never let the judges decide the winner. April 1st, tell the judges to take the night off. We won’t need them. I don’t play boxing!! #peoplechampion@daznboxing @#boxing#heavyweightboxing#knockout@titleboxingpic.twitter.com/t1ZwbTfaeV
— Jermaine Franklin Jr (Official Pg) (@JermaineFrankl6) February 4, 2023
The clip and message together are a nod to Franklin claiming robbery from the fight. Because of that, he’s determined to get a stoppage over the former unified world champion.