LONDON — Anthony Joshua makes his return to the ring on Saturday as he takes on American heavyweight Jermaine Franklin in London.
The Briton is looking to bounce back following his devastating pair of defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, with his last victory – against Kubrat Pulev in 2020 – now over two years ago.
The 33-year-old Joshua explained in a recent interview that he finds it difficult to believe that the IBF, IBO, WBA, and WBO world heavyweight titles are no longer in his possession.
Joshua was defeated by Ukrainian Usyk in back-to-back fights. It was a unanimous decision loss in the first fight in London. After changing his trainer, Joshua put up a better performance in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lost via split decision.
It will be Joshua’s first fight since leaving coach Robert Garcia and appointing new trainer Derrick James, now promising to bring a better version of himself with the fight branded ‘new dawn’ on the official poster.
“I’m serious, focused, locked in. It’s a serious fight, good opponent; I respect all of my opponents.”
Former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua makes his highly anticipated return to the ring on UK soil following his second loss to pound-for-pound star and unified world champion Usyk in Saudi Arabia, but Franklin insists that he isn’t here just to make up the numbers.
“For him, they say his career is on the line. For me, everything is on the line,” said Franklin. “That’s how I treat every fight. I’ve been boxing all my life and I’m not nervous for this. If you get nervous, you’re in the wrong sport.
Franklin added, “Fans are going to see me come out and fight way better fight than the Dillian fight. It is time for people to take me seriously. This is my new dawn. It’s my time to make my claim. I want to knock his ass out, that’s the goal.”
British heavyweight Fabio Wardley believes Joshua remains a massive name in the sport, noting that it will be a pleasure to begin a big year as his chief support on Saturday.
Wardley believes a future showdown with Olympic bronze medallist Frazer Clarke will happen sooner or later. “Frazer is obviously quite an inevitable name and we are going to clash horns at some point,” Wardley said.
“He seems like one of the prime candidates and has said numerous times he wants to have a go for the British belt. It seems like that would go together pretty well.”\
Wardley will aim to extend his excellent knockout record when he faces American veteran Michael Polite-Coffie on the undercard of Joshua’s comeback bout with Franklin.
Wardley claimed the British title with a strong showing against Nathan Gorman in November and is excited about what 2023 has in store.
