Former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua made his comeback on Saturday night, beating Jermaine Franklin by unanimous decision at the O2 Arena.
It was a win for Joshua, but not a resounding one, with Franklin remaining a threat throughout the contest. The 33-year-old admitted himself after the fight that he had hoped to seal a knockout, however, with plenty of options on the horizon it is an exciting time for the two-time world title holder.
After the fight, Joshua revealed his hopes of fighting against Tyson Fury, with his post-fight speech directed towards the current WBC heavyweight champion. He said: "I know who they want. They said Tyson Fury; the ball is in his court. I would be honoured to fight for the WBC Heavyweight Championship of the world."
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He continued: "If he’s listening, he knows my promoter. We’ve had dialogue before, so let’s continue this. We ain’t getting any younger."
However, the step up from Franklin to facing the undefeated champion of the world would be a big one and this could lead to one more fight this summer before the big step of facing Fury is discussed further. This is a view which has been expressed by Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, who has kept the door open as he suggested Joshua could face two further fights this year.
Hearn has suggested that a fight against Dillian Whyte is more likely, with a fight against the man who beat Franklin back in November a likely option. They have fought before, with their 2015 bout being won by Joshua but both have progressed since then and Hearn suggested that this could be his next fight.
Hearn told Boxing Social: "Some fights are there to be made and you get one chance to do it," He added. "Dillian Whyte is a great fight. He needs to get back in the ring in July [or] August at the latest if he is to get three fights in this year."
There remain other options for Joshua, with the prospect of fights against other heavyweights such as Deontay Wilder, Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubios being viable options.
WBA (Regular) world champion Dubios is the mandatory challenger for the WBA (Super) heavyweight title held by Oleksandr Usyk. That fight could now be arranged following the breakdown in talks for Usyk to face Fury and this would leave the winner well placed to fight against Joshua after his summer fight.
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