Anthony Joshua will return to action this weekend, welcoming Jermaine Franklin to London for a heavyweight fight billed as a 'New Dawn' for 'AJ' after successive losses in recent fights.
He lost his world heavyweight champion status with successive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022, but is now back with new trainer Derrick James as he plots a path to redemption. Such is the chaos in the heavyweight division at present, a win for Joshua could propel him back into world title contention against either Usyk or Tyson Fury.
However, should that not materialise, there will be plenty of further options including Joe Joyce and Deontay Wilder waiting should he be able to negotiate an awkward opponent. Franklin was a big rising star of the heavyweight division before defeat to Dillian Whyte at Wembley Arena in November, with his unbeaten record being taken on his UK debut.
READ MORE: Anthony Joshua v Jermaine Franklin undercard with Hatton and Wardley fights
There is also some exciting action on the undercard, with Campbell Hatton fighting once again having recorded his tenth win last month before Fabio Wardley vs American Michael Polite-Coffie.
Here is how you can follow the action:
When is Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin?
The fight takes place at London's O2 Arena on Saturday, April 1 and ring walks for the main event are expected at the very specific time of 10:41pm, according to the fight broadcaster DAZN.
How to watch Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin
The action will be broadcast live on DAZN from 6pm. You can subscribe to the service for a flexible £19.99 per month, or £9.99 per month for 12 months. There is also a full year pass available for £99.99.
All the devices the platform can be watched on is available here.
Who is on the undercard?
- Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin
Fabio Wardley vs Michael Polite Coffie
- Matteo Signani vs Felix Cash
- Austin Williams vs River Wilson-Bent
- Campbell Hatton vs Louis Fielding
- John Hedges vs Daniel Bocianski
- Ziyad Almaayouf vs TBA
- Peter Kadiru vs TBA
- Juergen Uldedaj vs TBA
What has been said?
Anthony Joshua: "I will. I will retire if I lose. I'm not here to battle people. If people want me to retire I will retire,"
"I'm not going to fight if people don't want me too. It's not even about the money. It's about the competitor in you. That's what's important. It [pressure] comes with the business and it comes with the territory, I know that.
"I know when I am retired, I am gonna be chilling. I'm gonna be thinking f**k everyone. I am done. You lot put so much pressure on me so when I am done, the chains are going to be gone. I am going to be laughing and loving life."
Jermaine Franklin: “For him, they say his career is on the line. For me, everything is on the line," He explained. “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.
“They’re probably looking at me like I’m a pushover or a walkover or something like that but they’re going to be in for a rude awakening. A goal of mine is I want to be a unified World Champion. I just want to help boxers. I love the sport and I want to continue to help other fighters grow. I want to give back to the sport what it gave to me.
“The circumstances around this fight are very different. For the Dillian fight I was working a job before we got that phone call. I wasn’t in the gym. We took like 5-7 weeks to get in shape for that fight. For the time I had I did what I could. This time I’ve got more time to prepare and more time to get in shape. We’re doing all we can.
“I showed people what I could do against Dillian. I showed people I can hang up there with some of the best. Dillian is a top 10/top 15 fighter and I showed people what I’m capable of. I don’t feel like I lost. We came home and we worked on stuff. We got better and we perfected our craft. We learned some different techniques and ways to attack."
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