Boxing

EDDIE HEARN insists Anthony Joshua will make “a statement” in his high-stakes showdown with Jermaine Franklin.AJ, 33, will look to resurrect his career against the American at London’s O2 Arena in April in what will be his first outing since consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
Anthony Joshua will return to the ring in April for his first outing since back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr UsykCredit: GETTY
The former unified heavy champ will throw down with Jermaine FranklinCredit: MATCHROOM BOXING
Promoter Eddie Hearn is confident AJ will return to the win column in emphatic fashionCredit: PA
Defeat to Franklin would likely banish the Watford warrior from the world title picture, but promoter Hearn is confident the former two-time unified heavyweight champ will return to winning ways in style.
He told The BBC: “It’s a really tough fight with loads of pressure to come back because if AJ doesn’t win this fight, then we’ve got a major problem.
“I believe you’ll see a statement from a guy who is very dangerous, very motivated to become a three-time heavyweight world champion.”
Heavy-handed Franklin has been dismissed as a gimme opponent for AJ, despite going the distance with recent WBC title challenger Dillian White last November.
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Hearn said: “There’s so much contradiction, ‘Anthony Joshua is finished, mentally he’s shot.
“‘But he’ll knock out Jermaine Franklin inside three rounds.’
“The same people that say Jermaine Franklin beat Dillian Whyte but he’s a terrible opponent for Anthony Joshua, in a comeback fight after two defeats to the pound-for-pound number one.
“What this guy has done from a resume perspective is unbelievable.
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“And I’m telling you now, this guy – still top-three heavyweight, capable of regaining his heavyweight world title.”
Although Hearn is confident Joshua will return to the win column, he admits it’ll be curtains for the Olympian’s career if he suffers a third loss on the trot.
He told iFL TV: “You go into that fight in April and you know that defeat, it’s all over, really.
“It would be a third back-to-back defeat and yet a great performance and a showroom knockout will get everyone saying, ‘We’re back, baby.’
“That’s what I can’t wait for because I love it when our backs are against the wall.
“I’m excited. I’m really excited. This is the most excited I’ve been in Joshua’s journey so far.” More

TYSON FURY has tipped recent sparring partner Alen Babic to get his hands on a world title.The Gyspy King got up close and personal with the Croatian clubber late last year as he helped him prepare for his Tottenham trilogy fight with Derek Chisora.
Tyson Fury has tipped Alen Babic to get his hands on a world titleCredit: RICHARD PELHAM
Tyson Fury has tipped Alen Babic to get his hands on a world titleCredit: INSTAGRAM@ALENTHESAVAGEBABIC
The hard spars in Morecambe impressed the WBC heavyweight king, who has no doubt in his mind that The Savage will eventually get his hands on a belt.
Babic told Boxing Social: “We had four sparring sessions a week, so we really tried each other.
“He was impressed and he – Tyson Fury – told me I was gonna be the world champ.
“There is not doubt about that. I like oh god that means so much.
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“The first man who said it was Dillian Whyte, so there is no comparison to that, but when Tyson Fury tells you what you’re gonna be, that is the second best.”
Babic’s ferocity also impressed Fury’s recent opponent Dillian Whyte, who currently acts as his manager.
When pressed on the pair’s assessments of him, he said: “They saw me in the ring.
“I’m not gonna stop. You can knock me the f**k out I’m gonna be back up.
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“I don’t care about being punched in the face.
“Everybody keeps saying, ‘Oh you gotta reserve your health!’ F**k you, you’re not me. You reserve your health.
“You keep after yourself, don’t look after me.
“Because nobody looked after me when I was nothing – so I will say where were you then?”
Babic, 32, claimed the inaugural WBC silver bridgerweight world title in his last outing against Adam Balski last May.
Alen Babic is determined to become a world champion at heavyweightCredit: RICHARD PELHAM
But the 6ft1′ sluggerhe’s hellbent on becoming a champion at heavyweight.
Fifteen stone Babic said: “I’m the smallest heavyweight alive, and I’m gonna fight for the belt one day.
“You’re gonna see it. You are all gonna witness it.”
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Babic currently doesn’t have a fight booked but is expected to return to the ring in the coming months.
Fury, meanwhile, is gearing up for a historic undisputed fight with pound-for-pound king Oleksandr Usyk. More

JAKE PAUL will mentally pummel Tommy Fury into defeat before they collide in their Saudi showdown, according to Eddie Hearn.The social media sensations will meet in a Diriyah dust-up nearly two years in the making at the end of the month.
Jake Paul and Tommy Fury will clash in a Saudi showdown later this monthCredit: MOST VALUABLE PROMOTIONS
Paul has seemingly got under the skin of former Love Island star FuryCredit: GETTY
Eddie Hearn expects The Problem Child to mentally batter Fury into defeat before they trade blowsCredit: GETTY
Problem Child Paul has played plenty of mind games with the youngest Fury brother – including revealing the birth of his child.
Fury cut a frustrated and angry figure when the pair faced off in London last week, so much so that Hearn reckons Paul may strike a telling blow before they trade heavy leather.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour, the Matchroom Boxing chief said: “The way that Jake talks about, personally, about stuff like the Tommy Fury fight, you’ve got to be careful.
“Not necessarily with Tommy Fury, but there’s a fine line in that world between something going badly wrong.
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“But I think he’ll mess with Tommy mentally.
“And I just think by the time they get in the ring — if they do get in the ring — I think Tommy will be defeated.”
Fury – the 23-year-old brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson – is a perfect 8-0 in his professional career but has, so far, failed to impress boxing purists.
Hearn said of the Love Island star: “Tommy Fury’s unbelievably limited, but he is a fighter, he is a boxer.
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“All the criticism about Jake is ‘you’ve never fought a boxer’ — he’s about to.
“Not a very good one, but still a boxer.
“For Tommy Fury, it’s just a bit embarrassing if he was to lose.
“It’s embarrassing full-stop to lose to Jake, that’s the reality — for a boxer.

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“I mean, I’d be embarrassed to lose to Jake Paul, and I would.
‘”He’s still not very good.”
Paul has vowed to end Fury’s career with a viral knockout, something Hearn believes will come to fruition.
He said: “I think Jake Paul will win by knockout.” More

TYSON FURY and Oleksandr Usyk are “100 per cent” set to fight on a new target date – with two venues in the running to host. The pair of unbeaten champions have been negotiating the heavyweight division’s first four-belt undisputed decider since the new year.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk squaring up in DecemberCredit: REUTERS
Saudi Arabia are frontrunners to host on April 29 with the UK a back-up alternative.
Frank Warren told talkSPORT: “The fight will take place 100 per cent the last Saturday in April.
“Where it takes place I genuinely think will be determined within the next six or seven days maximum.
“If we can’t do what we’re being asked to do with Tyson and Usyk [in Saudi Arabia], then the fight will take place in the UK.”
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Usyk, 36, is believed to have already come to financial terms with the Saudis.
Fury, 34, is now left to do the same and his Hall of Fame promoter Warren claimed they are getting close.
He said: “I don’t think we’re that far apart from where we need to get to.”
Wembley is another avenue promoters can explore if a deal in the Middle East cannot be agreed.
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But Fury admitted he will follow the cash – even if that means heading to Derek Chisora’s back yard.
He said: “I’m a prizefighter. I go where the money is. If it’s in Saudi Arabia, if it’s in Hong Kong, or if it’s in Derek’s back garden.
“I go for the money. That’s what I do. I go in, get my brains beat out of me for a few quid.
“And it becomes obsessive, the old prize fighting game, and that’s why it’s difficult to walk away.”

Promoter Frank Warren pictured with Tyson FuryCredit: Reuters More