Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin – Who wins?
Boxing professionals provide their expert opinions on Joshua-Franklin
Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22KO) is aiming to bounce back from successive defeats by facing American contender Jermaine Franklin (21-1, 14KO) at the O2 Arena on April 1, live on DAZN.
The Michigander came to the UK for his first fight abroad in November last year, where he gave world title contender Dillian Whyte a hard 12 rounds, with one scorecard returned as a draw. AJ’s stock has never been lower and there is enormous pressure on him to win or he could be facing retirement from the sport, which he declared in his own words.
BBN asked their panel of experts who they think will win this crunch heavyweight contest and why:
Boxers
George Groves, Former world champion: “I think we'll see a really solid performance from Anthony Joshua. Franklin is a good fighter, put up a real good [fight], I mean he lost to Dillian Whyte, but a lot of peope thought he might have won, it wasn't the best Whyte that night. Franklin is a good, solid fighter, I think he's in better shape from what I've heard. But I think if Joshua hits him, then Joshua hurts him, then Joshua gets rid of him.”
David Haye, Former two-weight world champion: “I think Jermaine Franklin showed how good he was against Dillian Whyte. A lot of people said it was a super-close fight. And [for AJ] to go out there and blast him out in a couple of rounds will be a good statement to the world, like 'I'm back!' That's what a world champion, future world champion would do.”
Matt Marsh, Former British champion: “I think Joshua will be too big and takes him out within five rounds.”
Dereck Chisora, World title contender: “It’s a make or break fight for AJ. The pressure is on him and the problem for him is if he knocks the guy out people will say, “You could easily knock that guy out,” and if he wins on points, people will claim that he was too scared to fight Franklin. Either way, he’s f*cked.
“AJ needs to put himself first, go in there and do what he needs to do. Get the W. Win, that’s it. It doesn’t matter how you win. Even if you win by an own goal, it’s still a win.”
Ace Adam, Super-middleweight prospect: “This is a 50/50 fight and I’m going with AJ because he has everything to be a world champion again, but everything comes down to his mindset. If his mindset is right, then he will get Franklin out of there. But let's not sleep on Franklin, he is a very game fighter and going to pose a lot of different problems for AJ, like he did with Dillian Whyte. So it's going to be an interesting fight.”
Trainers
Rick Ramos, Trainer to Jessica McCaskill: “I have always been an Anthony Joshua fan. He has the talent. He has the financial support behind him. My only question is… is he mentally ready? I hope so.
“I am picking AJ by KO. This is a do or die situation for him.”
Shane McGuigan, Trainer to Daniel Dubois & Chris Billam-Smith: “Great fight. Don't think it's going to go more than four or five rounds. I feel like when you put your combinations together with Franklin he falls apart. I've seen it in the gym with Daniel [Dubois]; he's great when you do pot shots and stay on the singles, but when you start putting your combinations together and back him up, he starts to wilt a little bit. He's very tough, but that fight against Dillian Whyte flattered him, I don't think that was the best Dillian Whyte and I think AJ will be far too strong and far too sharp for him.”
SugarHill Steward, Trainer to Tyson Fury & Lawrence Okolie: “It's a very interesting fight and I just want to be a fan to watch it. I know Anthony Joshua has a new trainer in Derrick James, a friend of mine who I think highly of as a trainer. And I am also very good friends with Jesse Addison who is actually training Jermaine for his fight, and Lorenze Reynolds, and we was in training camp together last time with Jermaine, and he trained hard and to be honest he never looked the best in the gym, but I know that Lorenzo and Jesse taining him hard, but he never looked good to me in the gym really at all, but when he went out there and fight he looked like a different person. I'm hoping that Jermaine is training like sh*t again and go out there with a spectacular [performance] and give it his best shot like he did last time and learn from the mistakes last time to possibly prevail him in this fight here.”
Jamie Moore, Trainer to Jack Catterall & Chantelle Cameron: “This is a smart move, it'll give us the opportunity to see if AJ is still the type of fighter he was. I believe this fight is going to show us he's still that aggressive, stong, explosive puncher. I think he's gonna come out and do a real number on him.”
Jamie Speight, Trainer to Michael Mooney: “For me and many others in the sport of boxing the idea is hit and don’t be hit and if you are landing more blows than the other man generally you win right?! So I thought Franklin done enough against Dillian Whyte and deserved the nod. Think Franklin has the bit between his teeth and can see a life changing opportunity in front of him as well as the bitter loss to DW and will take it with both hands. I see him outboxing Joshua early on and winning the fight, however I do feel at some point (rounds 7-10) that Joshua will catch him with either a single shot and KO him or stun him then finish the job with a combination of punches. Good fight, look forward to it.”
Managers
Al Siesta, Manager of Zak Chelli & Karo Murad: “I think it's quite a tricky and dangerous fight for AJ at this stage from so many perspectives. AJ struggled with tough, quick handed fighters/movers in the past. Franklin also can take a punch. Not a puncher himself, he has enough power to trouble AJ. Probably quite similar to Andy Ruiz, but not as good. So it's a proper live fight in my opinion. I'll be watching 100%.”
Uros Djikanovic, Manager & Advisor: “I think Joshua wins this fight on points. Franklin is a good fighter but Joshua is on another level, plus he needs this win to get his confidence back.”
Media
Tim Rickson, BBN Editor: “Franklin is tough and durable so he is going to be able to provide Joshua with a few rounds here. He jabs well, varies from body to head, and can fight fire with fire when he needs to. He outlanded Dillian Whyte in their fight last year, which was his first ever 12-rounder and only his second fight in three years. It's been reported he has lost over 20bs for this fight, so that could see him a bit more mobile, agile and quicker against Joshua. He didn't seem to move a lot in the Whyte fight, so perhaps he doesn't plan on be a sitting target on Saturday night.
“Joshua's stock has never been lower, so there is a lot of pressure on him to perform here, but he has just had a world class training camp with elite world champions Errol Spence and Jermell Charlo, guided by one of the world's best trainers in Derrick James. He improved in both rematches, against Ruiz Jr. and Usyk, even though he still lost to the latter, so I expect to see even further improvements on Saturday night. Critics call him robotic and say he can't get any better this late on in his career, but I think he's still learning on the job and getting better all the time.
“I would like to see AJ use his reach and height advantage to box long and keep him on the end of his jab. Pepper him from range and keep moving and circling, then increase combos and power when in complete control of the contest, patiently waiting for a sign… and when it comes, finish strongly, like the AJ of old. He is still powerful and explosive and I think he will prove a lot of his doubters wrong with an impressive performance this weekend.
“I predict Joshua to win between rounds 4-8.”
George Lacey, DAZN Group: “Anthony Joshua returns to familiar surroundings at The O2 at the start of a new dawn for the two-time champ. Many believe Franklin did enough against Dillian Whyte to get the nod but the boxing Gods decided otherwise on fight night and the Michigan native returns to London, hunting redemption in the fight of his life against AJ.
“The mission is simple – it’s a must-win for Joshua who returns off the back of two losses to the supreme Oleksandr Usyk. The switch to a Dallas training camp, linking up with Errol Spence’s trainer Derrick James has reportedly worked wonders for the former champion and you get the impression he’s stepped back into British soil with evil intent.
“If Joshua, is sharp, focused and on the job, he’ll have far too much for Franklin and I do feel it’s the perfect fight to get him back on track for another crack at heavyweight gold.
“I think we’ll see a stoppage in rounds 3-4 as I think Joshua will aim to lift the roof off of the O2 Arena, the home of some spectacular AJ knockouts through the years. We’ll be adding another one to the list come Saturday night.”
Anish Parekh, BBN Writer: “Joshua has seemed like a fighter with an identity crisis for too long but now is the time for him to accept who he is. A come forward destroyer, who can be astute and conservative but only when in situations that require it.
“I want to see a devastating AJ performance harking back the days when he was bludgeoning opponents with vicious intent to cause pain and punishment with every blow.
“I think we'll get it too. Franklin gave a good account of himself against Whyte but Joshua will show himself to be a different proposition to Whyte by getting himself back in the win column and overpowering his American foe by the ninth round.
“Love him or hate him, an active and challenging Joshua is only good for the sport and the heavyweight division.”
John J. Raspanti, Lead writer/editor www.maxboxing.com: “Anthony Joshua needs a win. He has the skills, but does he have the belief? New trainer Derrick James will help, but it's up to Joshua.
“Jermaine Franklin can fight. He gave Dillian Wythe fits. I saw a draw. Franklin said last week he'll brawl with Joshua. Perhaps he'll land a game-changing punch. He might, but my gut tells me Joshua will stop Franklin after round five.”
Aqib Tahlat, BBN Writer: “I believe Anthony Joshua will end this fight within six rounds. Joshua will be hungry to get a stoppage and I believe with the trainer he has, Derrick James, he will be able to implement a game plan that can make the stoppage more likely.
“Joshua has a lot of pressure going into this fight, he will need to perform really well in order to get any momentum going forward with his career with fights such as Joyce, Wilder and Fury waiting for him.
“Franklin can cause a few problems for AJ early on as he performed very well against Whyte, however I don’t think AJ should have any problems winning this fight.”
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