believes Anthony Joshua is far from finished in boxing – even if he shocks the world and beats the former world champion in the capital on Saturday.
Joshua returns to fight at the O2 Arena for the first time in seven years needing a victory to force his way back into the world title picture – which has been left more muddied than ever
Joshua lost his IBF, WBA and WBO titles to the undefeated Ukrainian in 2021 before falling to a split decision defeat in their rematch last summer. The frustration from that defeat boiled to the surface almost immediately with the 33-year-old
As the dust settled, it also prompted another major shake-up within the former Olympian’s camp, enlisting the services of Derrick James as his new trainer and taking his training camp to the US for the first time in his career.
Saturday’s meeting with Franklin is viewed by many – including his promoter Eddie Hearn – as a must-win fight, essential to restoring his once fearsome reputation in boxing’s blue-ribband division. But believing the sport is too quick to write off its heroes, Franklin is not convinced.
With Usyk still holding three quarters of the heavyweight gold on offer, the Michigan fighter is of the belief that Joshua can only be dismissed once someone knocks the new king off his perch.
‘I don’t see a defeat being the end for Joshua,’ Franklin told Metro.co.uk. ‘Unless someone destroys Usyk.
‘They are jumping the gun a little bit as people like to do in this sport. They are thinking I’m a bum. But when I beat him [Joshua] and beat the next person after that, can you really fault him for that?
‘Nobody has beat Usyk yet, so I don’t think you can really say that about Joshua’s career until someone else has dominated the guy that dominated him.
‘I don’t really know Anthony, I don’t really know his personality or character. But boxing has always been my passion. I just love going to war.’
Franklin hopes to haul himself into the world title picture by beating Joshua this weekend but will have mixed feelings over his latest trip to the capital.
The 29-year-old fought Dillian Whyte at the very same arena last November, believing he had done enough to beat the Brixton heavyweight in his own backyard. Whyte was awarded a majority decision win, a bitter pill for Franklin to swallow.
but the controversial decision last year has lingered heading into his meeting with Joshua, who is back at the same venue he made his professional debut at 10 years ago. 14 of Franklin’s 21 victories have come via KO and ‘knocking Joshua on his a*s’ will be the best method to avoid more uncertainty on the judges’ scorecards this weekend.
‘No, I’m not worried [about the judges],’ Franklin said. ‘I have already been through it once so I know what to expect. I just have to try to not let them do it to me again.
‘We are looking for the knockout but when it comes to them, I’m not going to force anything or pressure myself to get it. If I can put him on his a*s, I am definitely going to do that.’
Joshua has made major changes behind the scenes since his world was rocked by Usyk in 2021. After that first defeat, the former Olympian cut ties with long-time trainer Rob McCracken, with Angel Fernandez overseeing camp for the rematch with Robert Garcia also brought in.
While Joshua turned in an improved performance the second time around against Usyk, more change followed as he opted to relocate fight camp and align himself with James – the only active trainer to count two unified world champions among his stable in Errol Spence Jr and Jermell Charlo.
What changes Joshua has undergone during that camp in Dallas will be unveiled on Saturday but Franklin believes some of the same old weaknesses will be difficult to fix.
‘Some of them [Joshua’s weaknesses] he has cleaned up on a bit but some of them he still has. So if it he can’t clean them up in a Derrick James camp who is to blame? We are most definitely going to exploit them.
‘I don’t think James being in his corner will be a big factor, we prepare for anything. We see how he reacts and how he will progress in a fight so we are ready to adjust to that.
‘We try not to let one way of thinking get in the way, we practice for when he is going to be aggressive, when he steps back, we practice for when he tries to counter, we practice for it all. We are ready for any adjustments in the fight.’
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