Saturday, April 1. may spell make or break at the very top of the sport for former WBA undisputed heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, as the faltering British puncher takes on American challenger, Jermaine Franklin – in the former’s first non-title bout since 2015.
Joshua, a former WBA, IBO, IBF, and WBO heavyweight champion, has yet to return to professional boxing since August of last year, suffering a split decision loss in a one-sided defeat against Oleksandr Usyk in the pair’s championship rematch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Suffering his second consecutive loss to the Ukrainian striker, Joshua slumped to 24-3 as a professional – following a stunning, upset knockout loss to Andy Ruiz Jr.