Anthony Joshua Boxing Career On The Line In Comeback Fight This Saturday

Anthony Joshua faces arguably the most important fight of his career this weekend as he bids to re-establish himself in boxing’s heavyweight division.

The British fighter faces American pugilist Jermaine Franklin, who has just one defeat on his record in his 23 fights, in what is more than simply a comeback fight.

At 33 years of age, Joshua faces a must-win bout if he is to stay relevant in the upper rankings of heavyweight boxing.

A defeat would mean four defeats in his past six bouts and the likelihood that his challenge at the top of the division is over.

The good news for the Watford-born former Olympic Gold Medallist is that he is the hot favourite. Bet365 Sport has him at 1/12 on to land the win.

However, there have been plenty of big shocks in boxing before, especially in the heavyweight division, where one punch can change the destiny of a fighter for the better, or worse.

The Heavyweight Division Battle

Currently at the top of the heavyweight division are the two champions, Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the WBA, IBF, WBO and the Ring titles, and Tyson Fury, who is the incumbent WBC title holder.

Negotiations between those two parties for a unification bout seem to have hit the skids with both parties blaming each other for the breakdown.

That now leaves a real mix of fighters in contention for a shot at either Usyk’s or Fury’s belts and Joshua needs to win on Saturday in order to be one of them.

American Deontay Wilder has confirmed he has not retired from the ring and he is in the mix for a shot at a title, as is the up and coming British fighter Joe Joyce, who is unbeaten in all his 15 professional bouts.

Also in with a chance of a title shot once again is Andy Ruiz Jr. who defeated Joshua before losing the rematch.

Dillian Whyte is another who will feel that he is deserving of another world title shot after losing to Tyson Fury on April 2022.

Add to that a number of younger fighters emerging through the ranks, such as Daniel Dubois, Otto Wallinn and Jermaine Franklin himself, and it is a hugely competitive division with the potential for many intriguing fights to be made.

All of which makes Saturday’s fight at the 02 Arena in London all the more important.

Joshua v Franklin – Tale of the Tape

Joshua holds a 4” height advantage as well as a 5” reach advantage over his American opponent, although the American will likely weight in a stone heavier than the British fighter.

Joshua also has a greater proportion of knockouts in his fight, winning 22 of his 27 bouts by knockout, while Franklin has 14 knockouts in his 23 fights.

It’s an unusual mix of styles this fight where the much taller man is lighter than his opponent, but also has the heavier hands – facts which seem to all point in Joshua’s favour.

Joshua Career Timeline

• 15th October 1989 – Born in Watford, Hertfordshire.
• 2007 – Joshua begins boxing at the age of 18 at Finchley ABC
• 2009 – Joshua is placed on remand in Reading Prison.
• 2010 – Wins both the ABA Championship (in his 18^th amateur bout) and the GB Championships.
• 2011 – Wins the ABA Championship again and finishes second in the World Championships, earning a place on the 2012 GB Boxing team for the London Olympics.
• 2012 – Joshua wins gold at the 2012 Olympics.
• 1^st January 2013 – Joshua receives the MBE in the 2013 New Year’s Honours List.
• 11^th July 2013 – Joshua turns professional
• 5^th October 2013 – Joshua wins his first bout as a professional, defeating Emmanuel Leo of Italy by TKO in the first round.
• 11^th October 2014 – After a busy year improving his record to 8-0, Joshua is the Main Event for a Matchroom Sports event as he beat Dennis Bakhtov to land the WBC International heavyweight title.
• 12^th December 2015 – Joshua faces Dillian Whyte in his 15^th fight and wins by TKO in the 7^th round, becoming British heavyweight Champion in the process.
• 9^th April 2016 – Joshua lands his first world title, the IBF belt, by defeating Charles Martin by 2^nd round knockout.
• 29^th April 2017 – After two successful defences of his title, Joshua challenges Wladimir Klitschko for the WBA and IBO heavyweight titles, and despite suffering his first career knockdown, he defeats the Ukrainian fighter by TKO in the 11^th round.
• 31^st March 2018 – Joshua adds the WBO world title to his collection after defeating Joseph Parker by unanimous decision in the 12^th round. This is the first fight Joshua does not win by knockout or TKO in his career thus far.
• 1^st June 2019 – Joshua loses his belts after a shock defeat to American/Mexican fighter Andy Ruiz Jr, who wins by TKO in the 7^th round.
• 7^th December 2019 – Joshua enforces a rematch with Ruiz Jr and wins the rematch in Saudi Arabia on points by a unanimous decision, regaining the four belts he had lost previously.
• 12^th December 2020 – Joshua defeats Kubrat Pulev in his first defence after winning back the titles by a 9^th round knockout.
• 25^th September 2021 – Joshua loses for the second time when he is outclassed by Oleksandr Usyk, with the former unified Cruiserweight world champion winning a unanimous decision.
• 30^th August 2022 – Once again Joshua used the rematch clause for an immediate second bout with Usyk in Saudi Arabia. This fight was much closer than the first one but Usyk held onto the titles by winning a split decision.
• 1^st April 2023 – Joshua to return to the ring against Jermaine Franklin at the 02 Arena in London.

How Will The Fight Turn Out?

There is no doubt that this is a very important fight for both fighters. Joshua to get his career back on track, Franklin to re-establish himself as a genuine heavyweight world title prospect after losing to Dillian Whyte.

That said, I do feel that there is a lot in Joshua’s favour here. He does seem to be the heavier puncher, is taller and has a greater reach.

I can’t see this being a quick fight though as Franklin is durable, so I am going to go for a Joshua victory by knockout or TKO in the 10^th round, which is a 12/1 shot with bet365 Sport.