This following weekend, British boxing champ AJ will return to the ring to take on Jermaine Franklin, after suffering two consecutive losses to the challenging Oleksandr Usyk. When it comes to trying to go back up the heavyweight rankings, this fight has been described as a “make or break” for the former Olympic champion.
With a 21-1 record, Franklin has a good resume, and the American is aware that should he manage to KO AJ, this victory would be the biggest of his career.
He, however, lost to Dillian Whyte before the upcoming match, therefore he will need to dramatically step up his performance.
Although Joshua’s standing in the boxing community has declined recently, he still defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2017 and has won the heavyweight world championship twice.
Negotiations fell through, and Franklin is now on his way. He’s also previously stated that he wants to face off with Tyson Fury in the ring.
Anthony Joshua’s debut and current victories
The Watford-born star became a professional after winning the Olympic Gold in the London 2012 Games. On October 5, 2013, he made his O2 Arena debut against Emanuele Leo.
In the first round, he defeated his opponent, and he went on to win the next 13 battles with ease. But Joshua’s career took a further step forward in 2015 when he faced fellow London-based fighter Whyte. The fight went seven rounds before AJ was finally knocked out.
Later on, after defeating Charles Martin, Joshua won the IBF championship and successfully defended it against Dominic Breazeale and Eric Molina. AJ was at his best when he defeated Klitschko and added the WBA and IBO titles to his collection.
Joshua gained the title of undisputed world champion after victories over Alexander Povetkin and Joseph Parker, but his titles were stripped away in New York after a shocking loss to Andy Ruiz Jr.
In the rematch with Ruiz, he defeated him to reclaim them, and he also defeated Kubrat Pulev to set up the first Usyk bout.
The Ukrainian, who had previously competed at cruiserweight, went up in weight class but put on a boxing class at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to win by unanimous decision and take home all the belts.
Joshua put up a far stronger performance in the Saudi Arabian rematch, but he still lost by a narrow margin and departed empty-handed.
Anthony Joshua’s record, victories, and defeats
Joshua has competed in 27 fights, winning 24 and losing 3 of them. Five of his 22 knockout victories have occurred in the first round.
Weight, height, and reach of Joshua
Joshua weighed 240 pounds, or a little under 109 kg, for his rematch with Usyk. He did, however, once tipped the scales at an astounding 117kg of pure muscle. Additionally, the 33-year-old has a serious height of 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm) tall with a reach of 82 inches (208 cm).
What his next fight hold for him
Next weekend, Joshua will fight Franklin in the O2 Arena, although Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter and the head of Matchroom Boxing, acknowledged that the fight hasn’t been a sellout event.
