It’s all about Anthony Joshua this Saturday night as he returns to the ring to face Jermaine Franklin, in what I believe is the most important fight of his career. So much expectation is on Joshua’s shoulders as he goes into battle, and although he’s been here many times before, he really has to go out on this occasion and provide a timely reminder of just how good he is.
The heavyweight division has been distracted in recent months with Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk receiving the spotlight as they discuss their potential clash, but this Joshua’s moment to show he’s very much still a significant threat. He must put the Usyk losses in the past now and focus on being the man that goes to the top, and I think he’s capable of that with Derrick James in his corner.
Joining Joshua out in Texas in the build-up to this fight with Franklin allowed me to see up close what’s going on with this new training team, and I was impressed with what I saw. Joshua has taken himself out of his comfort zone and now that’s relocated to America for the next phase of his career, it shows that the hunger to win and the will to improve is very much alive in him.
This is a man who has pretty much set out what he intended to do as a fighter and being in this situation is nothing new to him. I’ve been there myself as a fighter when you know that you have to win at any cost, or you have no idea where or when the next opportunity is coming. Going into a fight with those consequences hanging over you can be hard but it’s how you deal with them that matters.
Going into fights with Nathan Cleverly and Mateusz Masternak, the pressure I felt was enormous because I didn’t really have a Plan B if those fights didn’t go my way. The Masternak win allowed me the opportunity to fight at Goodison Park for my world title and then that paved the way to change my life in two fights with David Haye. A loss to Masternak gives my career a totally different look. That’s how tough this sport can be.
Joshua must win against Franklin if he’s to secure the biggest fights in the division and I think he can take that pressure and put on a big show. This is a man who went into the Worlds with no experience, an Olympic final with the world watching, and also high stakes fights against Wladimir Klitschko and the Andy Ruiz rematch. He dealt with those impressively and I expect him to do the same against Franklin.
Joshua will make a fast start and look to end matters before halfway and Franklin will be doing all he can to take it late. The first half of the fight is crucial, and if Joshua can make a quick start, then he’ll make it his night. Saturday can go some way to answering some questions that are out there regarding Joshua and he’ll be confident of answering even more once this Franklin test is out the way.