- Round-by-round updates from the big fight in London
- Hearn, Benn and the poison at the heart of British boxing
Hello and welcome to the O2 Arena for tonight’s non-title fight between Anthony Joshua and Jermaine Franklin. It’s the textbook definition of a crossroads bout for Joshua, the former two-time world champion who is coming off consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist desperately needs a career-reviving performance against Franklin, a fringe contender from Saginaw, Michigan, who earned his shot as Joshua’s comeback opponent by giving Dillian Whyte a scare in November.
“We can’t look back,” Joshua said this week. “We’re only looking forward and I see a bright future and that kind of keeps me in good spirits.”