Joshua was frank about his fight with Franklin
AJ: "I wish I could have knocked him out"
The former two-time world heavyweight champion was honest in his opinion that missing a knockout last night was not good enough for him. Anthony Joshua got back to winning ways with a points decision over American contender Jermaine Franklin but the Brit was not satisfied with his performance.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, AJ said he was unhappy with his performance last night, "No knockout, so no good. It is a brutal sport, but knockouts are everything. I'm not too happy.
"I could have thrown more shots, and I should have, no excuses. But I will. That is part of coming back; you have to be your own biggest critic. If you want to progress, you can't say that was brilliant and chill out.
"Franklin is a decent counter-puncher; the right hand wasn't landing; that is one of my best shots but we will build.
"Whatever my coach wants to work on, we'll work on. I don't want to put pressure on Derrick; everything that happens in the ring is on me. If you want to be a fighter you have to deal with the pressure.
"Last time I grabbed the mic, it was a bit chaotic. I'm calm; I appreciate everyone coming out this evening. Inside the ring, it is a different energy so I apologise to those watching. I respect Jermaine, Eddie [Hearn], thank you for this opportunity. Fans, thank you as well.
"It was important to win. Jermaine has a good duck and dive style, somebody else from Britain will probably knock him out; respect to him, he did well. I should have knocked him out but it is done. On to the next. He is here to prove himself, not roll over. I wish I could have knocked him out."
American trainer Trainer Derrick James pointed out his positives, "For me it was all about getting the win; I didn't care how. After this, we'll come back and build; we saw he was able to box on the inside, how devastating his jab was, how good his movement was.
"Towards the end, he looked like he was ready to go. I told him to pick up the pace in the last couple of rounds. The more we work together, the more he'll be able to do what I want him to do. If he wants [Fury], I want what he wants."
Promoter Eddie Hearn told DAZN, "AJ is going to want the biggest fights. Tonight was a step down from Oleksandr Usyk, but there was huge pressure. He ended the fight well, but like he said they aren't getting any younger. We would be willing to entertain those conversations to go straight into a Tyson Fury fight in the summer.
"We've got Dillian Whyte down there, Deontay Wilder, a lot of good fighters. I think he will improve under Derrick James. There are a lot of improvements to make."
Joshua on what's next:
"I try and provide for the fans. 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. If he's listening, he knows my promoter; we've had dialogue before, so let's continue this. We ain't getting any younger."
Read back over BBN's live reports from ringside: Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin live results
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