Anthony Joshua has admitted that he isn't excited about his fight with Jermaine Franklin because it's not at Wembley Stadium.
Joshua, 33, looks to pick up his first win over two years against Franklin on Saturday after suffering back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in his past fights. 'AJ' fought at Wembley when he lost his titles to the Ukrainian in September 2021 with their rematch last August taking place in Saudi Arabia.
'AJ' fights at The O2 arena for the first time in almost seven years when he faces Franklin, who suffered his first professional defeat last November to Dillian Whyte in a controversial decision. Joshua has maintained that fighting at The O2 arena is something that doesn't excite him and he would much rather be competing at Wembley.
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When asked if he was excited about the fight, Joshua told reporters: "No because, it's not Wembley. It's a big statement to sell out a stadium, it's a massive dream. What it does for boxing it just shows that it's booming of course I'd love to sell out a stadium again, but I'm not complaining. I'm here to fight, whether it's at Wembley or here for know it is what it is. I've got to take what I've got in front of me, but I'd definitely take Wembley all day."
Joshua is working with his third trainer in the space of two years as Derrick James will look to guide him to victory against Franklin. 'AJ' explained that he likes James' old-school approach to training and the coach's gym in Dallas isn't packed out with modern-day equipment as it only has the essentials of boxing.
"I like Derrick James' gym because it's got what you need, it isn't fancy," he added. "It's got the ring, boxing bag and space where you can do your calisthenics. Where I got from Derrick is the teacher, he's a very good teacher away from all of the other stuff that boxing has developed into. People are making money by designing new equipment, but he's a very good teacher.
"People talk so much s*** about me it's crazy. If I've someone that runs my camp why am I going to change that, I'm a two-time heavyweight champion of the world. Why am I going to go Derrick and say 'Everything I've done, forget it, you go and take lead'. The only thing I will dictate on is me wanting to do more."
