Anthony Joshua gets a mandatory win against Jermaine Franklin

Former world boxing champion Anthony Joshua has celebrated a mandatory victory on his way back to the heavyweight throne. In London, the 33-year-old Briton won his build-up battle against the American Jermaine Franklin on points on Saturday. If he had announced his retirement in the event of a defeat, the former Klitschko conqueror can dream of a world championship fight again.

For Joshua it was the 25th win in 28 professional fights (three losses) – and the first success in 840 days. Most recently, the two-time champion beat Bulgarian Kubrat Pulew Ko on December 12, 2020. After that, Joshua lost the WBA, WBO and IBF belts to Alexander Usyk in September 2021 and also lost in the rematch last August.

After beating Franklin, the “Battle of Britain” against WBC world champion Tyson Fury could become an issue again. Fury’s negotiations with Usyk about a unification fight had recently burst.

“The ball is in his hands. I would be honored to fight for his WBC world title,” Joshua said after his triumph towards Fury. “Hopefully we’ll get there sooner or later. We’re not getting any younger.”

After a quiet initial phase, the favorite played a few active rounds against Franklin, but he was already bleeding from the nose after the first three minutes. Although he then landed the majority of the hits and hit his opponent mostly inaccurately, the Briton lacked the final punch.

Anthony Joshua: Ko attempts miss their target

“AJ” increased his aggressiveness from the middle of the fight, seemed a bit impatient and wanted to end the fight early. However, despite a battered opponent, he did not succeed, after twelve rounds the judges had to decide. They rated the fight unanimously in favor of the former world champion.

Joshua had long been considered the future dominator of the premier class and merciless knockout, especially after his spectacular title defense in 2017, when he retired boxing icon Wladimir Klitschko.

However, his descent began in June 2019 with the completely surprising knockout defeat against the American Andy Ruiz Jr., with Joshua regaining his titles in the rematch six months later before the next setbacks followed against Usyk.

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin: boxing in the live ticker to read

After the fight: And I look toward the bed. Have a good night and see you soon!

After the fight: The decision is announced, as expected the fight goes unanimously to Joshua. He is very cautious, it really wasn’t a spectacle here – for the comeback on the World Cup stage there has to be a little more in future fights. On the microphone, however, AJ looks in the direction of Tyson Fury: “The ball is in his hands. I’m 100 percent ready to fight for the WBC title.”

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin: Boxing in the live ticker to read – the fight

12th round: Few would have expected before the fight that it would be the entire distance. AJ doesn’t take any risks here at all, tries to land a few more uppercuts from the clinch. The bell rings, and after the fight, the two start angling again – the teams intervene. The boxers would have liked to have been able to show their commitment a little earlier and in the fight.

11th round: If no one falls over here anymore, the matter is over. And it doesn’t look like it, although AJ lands some good jabs here again. It’s going back into the corners one last time, so maybe we can look forward to one last knockout attempt here?

10th round: The fastest round in a long time: Joshua engages in an open exchange of blows, between the clinches both sides find a few more hits than usual – including an uppercut under Franklin’s chin. But he puts it off quite well.

9th round: There is not much that is new to report in this round either, you could also copy one of the previous entries here. Few punches, a lot of holding – Joshua controls. After all, Franklin lands his best hit of the fight, but it shouldn’t be enough for the round either.

8th round: In terms of points, AJ should have pretty much gotten the thing here, and the fans present must have imagined his comeback differently. Little noise from the stands is probably not bad either, so that the boxers can better understand the referee. He has to intervene every now and then during the whole Geclinche. Round goes to Joshua again.

7th round: A tough fight, after a few open punches at the beginning of the round, we continue straight away with the clasps. Joshua also looks visibly tired now, but makes a nice combination towards the end. After the bell there is a bit of trash talk, but the two then decide to save their breath for the last few laps.

6th round: It picks up where it left off: a few jabs are exchanged, then some cuddling – and the whole thing starts all over again. Joshua’s punches land a little better, but it’s anything but a show of force.

5th round: The hoped-for fireworks have not yet been set off by either side. AJ controls with the guide hand, Franklin looks tired – the many clinches should contribute to this. The fifth round also goes to the local heroes.

4th round: Franklin hasn’t been hiding here so far, but needs to step forward a little more to really threaten AJ – the first few laps all went to Joshua, albeit closely. In round four, Franklin doesn’t quite succeed until he puts a lot of pressure on just before the end – but the bell saves before it gets serious for Joshua.

3rd round: Now AJ keeps his opponent at a distance a little better, Franklin can’t quite match his combinations. That was a very controlled lap from the Brit.

2nd round: The American is looking for a gap in Joshua’s cover, wanting to put pressure on the favorite early on. Lands a few nice hits, the hitting hand also finds its target a few times. Joshua also lands a few clear hits, but this is not a clear number.

1 round: The bell rings, let’s go! Both boxers start defensively, exchanging a few jabs. After the first clip, Franklin pushes a little harder, putting in a nice hit to the body. AJ is in control here, but maybe a little too passive in this first lap, giving Franklin a little confidence. Overall Joshua’s lap, a little blood runs out of his nose at the break.

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin: Boxing in the live ticker – before the start

Before start: Now the two boxers face each other, the referee gives them a few words to take with them. So we can start right away.

Before start: Now AJ is also running through the tunnel, practicing a few jabs in the air. The cheering for the local hero is a bit bigger than for his American opponent.

Before start: Well, now the hall finally seems ready for the fireworks. The boxers come out to the ring, Franklin going first.

Before start: His opponent has also worked on the weight, but in the opposite direction. “I’ve embarked on a little health journey, changed my eating habits, changed things I’ve been consuming, my body weight has started to tumble,” Franklin revealed before the fight. “I’m just ready to let the fireworks go.”

Before start: In the meantime, we can take a quick look at the two opponents. After his defeat against Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua made some adjustments. The result: He goes into the ring with the heaviest fighting weight he has ever had – he has put on about five kilos compared to his previous fights. He was accompanied – once again – by a new team of coaches. Derrick James helped AJ prepare in Texas.

Before start: The preliminary fights are all over now, but it may still be a few minutes before the main fight starts. It should start between 11 p.m. and 11:15 p.m.

Before start: The venue for the encounter is the O2 Arena in London. Anthony Joshua is facing a home game, so to speak. He can use that too, as he recently suffered two defeats in a row. We’ll be back here just before the main event!

Before start: The duel will be played from around 11 p.m. today. Before that, four preliminary fights will take place.

Before start: Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the boxing match between Anthony Joshua and Jermaine Franklin.