Anthony Joshua’s upcoming fight with Jermaine Franklin is amongst the most important of his entire career, with victory crucial if he is to propel himself towards the elite names of the heavyweight division.
It will be ‘AJ’s first outing since his unsuccessful rematch against Oleksandr Usyk and, perhaps more interestingly, his post fight breakdown after the decision was read out in Jeddah.
When speaking on Sky Sports, former cruiserweight world champion Johnny Nelson did not attempt to downplay the significance of this Saturday night’s contest, stating Joshua should hang up the gloves altogether if he fails to get past Franklin at the 02 Arena.
“If Anthony Joshua loses, he jacks it in. Or if he doesn’t, he should jack it in! Because it’s a hard mountain to climb, especially when you’re getting out of silk sheets and you’ve had the success he’s had.”
“So he can’t afford to lose, that’s an absolute must.”
Whilst ‘AJ’ goes into the fight a considerable betting favourite, Franklin proved he is a competent fighter when he faced Dillian Whyte last November and will have plenty of confidence he can spoil Joshua’s homecoming.
It will be the first opportunity for fans to see any improvements Joshua has made under new trainer Derrick James, with whom he has spent the last ten weeks working with in Dallas, Texas.
Ticket sales for this weekend’s show have been amongst the slowest of Joshua’s career to date, so those backing him will hope he delivers a statement performance, accompanied with a highlight reel knockout that gets people talking about Anthony Joshua as a top name in the blue ribbon division once again.