ANTHONY JOSHUA has packed on almost a stone to take on Jermaine Franklin in his comeback fight.
Joshua and Franklin face off on Saturday at The O2 Arena in London in a match that will see the former fighting at the heaviest weight of his career.
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AJ is now at 18st 3lb, which means he bulked up by almost a stone after his consecutive heartbreaking losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
The British superstar was 17st 6lb during his second defeat to Usyk in August and 17st 14lb for the first loss 11 months earlier.
The 33-year-old now weighs 1lb heavier than his previous most hefty clash against Carlos Takam in 2017.
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That was when AJ admitted after the fight that he ballooned up because Takam was a last-minute replacement for Kubrat Pulev.
Joshua’s current weight beats all of his previous numbers since 2018 when he took on Joseph Parker.
The heavyweight athlete was at 17st 4lb against Parker and bulked up by 4lb for his fight with Alexander Povetkin that same year.
The Watford-born ace weighed 17st 7lb before his first ever loss to Andy Ruiz Jr.
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Joshua then lost some more weight before evening the scales with Ruiz on their rematch as he fought at 16st 13lb.
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He then took on Kubrat Pulev in a match that saw him tip the scales at 17st 2lb.
Joshua said: “I’ve got my gameplan, I’ve got my mind right. I am ready for war.
“I know I can knock him out but I follow the process.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
