Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin Official for April 1 at O2 Arena
Former Two Times World Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua’s next fight is officially announced for April 1, 2023.
AJ will face Jermaine Franklin at the O2 Arena in London, UK. The event is dubbed as “New Dawn” as Joshua tries to ascend his way back to the heavyweight title. This will be Joshua’s first fight with his new head trainer Derrick James, with who he started working last month.
This will also be Joshua’s debut on Dazn Streaming service across the globe in more than 200 territories. The event will be available to all Dazn monthly or yearly subscribers without any extra price. This will be Joshua’s first fight since 2015 that will not be on PPV.
Franklin recently fought Dillian Whyte and pushed him to limit before a decision went against him. While that bout was a draw at 115-115 on one card, the other two judges gave the fight to Dillian Whyte with 116-112 score. This was Franklin’s first loss after 21 wins in a row, including 14 KOs.
Anthony Joshua is coming off two consecutive losses against Oleksandr Usyk where he lost unified WBA(super), WBO & IBF Heavyweight titles. Joshua is looking for a rebuild as he looks to get another shot at the World title in future.
In the press release, Joshua said, “Mentally and physically I feel ready. I want to put on a show and impress my coach as he has high standards.”
This is the first fight that is planned for Joshua this year as per Eddie Hearn. After this bout on April 1, the plan remains for another Joshua bout in Summer against Dillian Whyte before a fight against either of Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder in the last quarter.
Check here to keep up with the upcoming boxing schedule.