Anthony Joshua defeats Jermaine Franklin and calls out Tyson Fury next

Anthony Joshua and Jermaine Franklin battled it out in the main event live on DAZN from The O2 in London on Saturday 1st April. The former two-time UFC heavyweight champion took on the American contender from Saginaw, Michigan. Scheduled for 12 rounds, the fight went all the way.

With a unanimous decision win, Anthony Joshua improved to 25-3, 22 KOs and recovered from a pair of losses to reigning unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk last August in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and September 2021 in London. Jermain Franklin fell to 21-2, 14 KOs and suffered his second loss in a row after failing his UK debut by a majority decision against Dillian Whyte last November.

“If it was a knockout… It’s important to win,” Joshua said after the fight when asked if the knockout is important. “Perhaps someone else will knock him out. I believe from Britain. Jermain has good ducking and diving style. There was an opportunity, but he knew how to turn up, respect to him, he did well. Thanks to him and his team for the preparation. I should have knocked him out, but what can I say now? It is done. Let's move on to the next one."

When asked who he would like to fight next, Joshua said: “I know who the fans want. I would be honored to be 100 percent in contention for the WBC heavyweight title . Wherever you are, if you're listening, you know my management, you know my promoter. Hopefully we can make it sooner or later, we're not getting any younger. And I can't wait to get back to Texas and develop and move on because there's a bigger fight ahead. You know how one fight leads to another. I can't wait for the next big fight."