Eddie Hearn suggests Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin could be on pay-per-view
Former two-time world champion Anthony Joshua, who has slipped down to 4th and 5th place in the world rankings, is set for a comeback fight with WBO #12 heavyweight Jermaine Franklin on April 1st at the O2 Arena in London.
The 33-year-old's 28th bout is designed to get him back to winning ways to set up a rematch with domestic rival Dillian Whyte in the summer. Because of the nature of this fight, the prospect of it being PPV is not sitting well with fight fans.
When questioned by Boxing Social, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn simply said, "It might be on PPV, it might not be, watch this space."
Fans were quick to react in opposition to the event being pay-per-view:
"It shouldn't be, two low level guys."
"If that's a PPV on a paid subscription, it's a disgrace."
"Defo don't put it on PPV! AJ with no belts, dropped down the rankings, against a WBO #12 opponent who's there as a sensible comebcak fight… no way does that warrant PPV."
"DAZN is going under in no time! No point paying for a subscription that opens the door to pay more… be like paying for Netflix then paying again for new releases."
"Will be straming for free in HD either way. Doesn't matter to me one bit."
"Lol Eddie Hearn… the AJ vs Jermaine should be free for all."
"Will watch it but not paying."
"It's a terrible fight."
"If you pay for that, you got issues."
BBN Editor Tim Rickson added his views, "A WBO #5 heavyweight vs WBO #12 should not even be entertained as a PPV event.
"While Joshua's stock is currently lower than ever, Eddie Hearn should get the fans back on side by making this a non-PPV event. Right now, no one is talking about Joshua-Fury anymore while the pair are so many miles apart. I still want to see that fight, but we don't necessarily need it anymore because the questions have been answered, in my view.
"When Wilder-Joshua is mentioned, the reactions are that AJ shouldn't go anywhere near him for fear of his health, so the public's faith in Joshua is very low right now. Hearn should put this fight on DAZN without asking for PPV to get fans back on board and watch Joshua get a convincing win to head into the Whyte rematch full of regained confidence, to then be able to mention his name amongst Fury, Usyk and Wilder again."
