Anthony Joshua successfully announced his return to the heavyweight category by beating American boxer Jermaine Franklin on Saturday night.
The victory of Anthony Joshua over Franklin which is seen as a crucial step towards a lengthier spell in the sport is his 8th win at the O2 Arena in London.
It is also Joshua’s first win in his last three bouts. Recalls that Joshua suffered back-to-back defeats against Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk to whom the British boxer lost all his belts in 2022.
For Joshua to defeat Franklin who was tenacious in the bout on Saturday night, the Nigerian-born British boxer had to score higher on the scoreboard of the three judges.
After a long night, Joshua used the American boxer to return to winning ways with a score of 118-111, 117-111, 117-111
In 22 professional fights, Franklin had only lost once, a disputed majority decision loss to Dillian Whyte in November 2022.
The Saturday’s bout between the American and the British boxers was one of the most significant matches of Joshua’s career even though it was his first contest in seven years without at least one world title at stake. The outcome would influence his career’s course moving forward.
It would have been heartbreaking if a talent like Joshua ended his career with a third straight defeat. Naija News has reported that he had announced ahead of the bout that if he loses, he would retire from boxing.
But the triumph would return him to the top of the heavyweight class, where he used to be after winning the unified heavyweight title twice.
Throughout the bout on Saturday, Joshua hit precise shots, but he passed up the chance to knockout Franklin and make a stronger statement.
However, after he was declared winner, Joshua and Franklin’s closing exchanges had to be stopped after Franklin’s corner charged at Joshua.
