Boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA has been accused of being gifted a “very easy route” to world titles and having already peaked in his career. The two-time heavyweight champion returns on April 1 against Jermaine Franklin following consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
Anthony Joshua with the IBF, WBA, WBO and titles in 2019Credit: PA
Promoter Eddie Hearn has vowed it will mark AJ’s route back to the gold in a bid to reign for a third time.
But esteemed British boxing trainer Brendan Ingle believes Joshua, 33, has already reached the peak of his powers.
Ingle told Boxing King Media: “For me, I don’t think we’ll ever see the best of Anthony Joshua again.
“I think he’s had his peak. There could be a number of factors – wealth, a lack of commitment, a lack of ability to learn.
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“I don’t think we’ll ever see him get to the top again.
“When you’re on that winning streak and you feel like you’re invincible, it counts for a lot and you’ll get off the canvas.
“I think Anthony Joshua did exceptionally well, but I think he had a very easy route to those world title fights.
“The [Wladimir] Klitschko fight was a tester, but he was past his best and Tyson Fury had already beaten him in his backyard.”
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Joshua knocked out Charles Martin to win the IBF title in 2016 in just his 16 professional bout.
He would unify the belts by beating Klitschko in 2017 for the vacant WBA strap, two years after Fury upset the Ukrainian in Germany.
Joshua added the WBO belt to his collection in 2018 by beating Joseph Parker but lost all three in a shock to Andy Ruiz Jr a year later.
AJ did avenge his loss to Ruiz in their Saudi Arabia rematch six months later, but again lost them to Usyk in September 2021.
Credit: SUNSPORT
🥊 Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin – Date, live stream, TV channel and all you need to know about heavyweight bout
This time, in his rematch in the Middle East, Joshua failed to regain the belts and now returns off two defeats.
AJ has linked up with trainer of the year candidate Derrick James in Texas as he looks to rejuvenate himself.
Hearn said: “For me, this is a really exciting run for AJ’s career, a new training team out in Texas.
“He’s in a great place. He’s ready to launch his attack on the heavyweight division all over again, but he had a very tough night’s work on April 1st.”
Anthony Joshua pictured with promoter Eddie HearnCredit: PA More

TYSON FURY is lined up for a summer fight with Joe Joyce at Wembley – all he has to do is beat Oleksandr Usyk.Fury and Usyk are still negotiating the heavyweight division’s first four-belt undisputed decider.
Joe Joyce, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk facing offCredit: Jamie McPhilimey
Meanwhile, Joyce is the mandatory challenger for the WBO title set to be on the line between the unbeaten pair.
To keep active, the 2016 Olympic silver medallist returns on April 15 against China’s Zhilei Zhang, 39.
Should Fury, 34, and Joyce, 37, both emerge victorious it will set them up for a blockbuster in front of over 90,000.
Promoter Frank Warren wrote in his column: “I was delighted last week to be able to officially signpost a proper banger of a heavyweight fight for April 15 when Big Joe Joyce goes up against Big Bang Zhang, otherwise known as Zhilei Zhang.
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“Our big hope, of course, is that the Juggernaut remains on a collision course with Tyson Fury and a big summer date at Wembley.
“That is the plan if Tyson takes all the titles from Oleksandr Usyk and Joe does the business on April 15 in Stratford.” 
Fury’s historic title unification looks set for Saudi Arabia on April 29.
Usyk, 36, is believed to have already agreed a financial package with the Middle Eastern hosts.
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It is now down to Fury to do the same or switching the venue to Wembley is an alternative option.
The WBC champion sold 94,000 tickets there for his knockout of Dillian Whyte, 34, last April.
Fury has also threatened to turn his attention to ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou, 36, if talks with Usyk continue to stall.
Ngannou is a free agent after leaving the UFC and Fury wants to fight him in 4oz gloves, in a cage but under boxing rules.
Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou at WembleyCredit: BT SPORTS More

ANTHONY JOSHUA has officially announced Derrick James as his new head coach.AJ parted company with Robert Garcia – who replaced his former long-time trainer Rob McCracken – shortly after his second successive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last August.
Anthony Joshua will face Jermaine Franklin at the O2 on April 1Credit: MATCHROOM BOXING
Joshua parted company with coach Robert Garcia after his second loss to Oleksandr UsykCredit: PA
Joshua will be trained by Derrick James for his clash with FranklinCredit: INSTAGRAM@DERRICKDJAMES1
The Watford warrior shopped around for a new head coach in America last year and briefly worked with James – the trainer of Errol Spence and Jermell Charlo.
And James’ appointment as the main man in Joshua’s corner was confirmed on Wednesday in the announcement of his clash with Jermaine Franklin.
An excerpt of the press release read: “Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) fights at The O2 in London for the first time since 2016 as he begins life under the tutelage of new head trainer Derrick James.”
Joshua’s involvement with Franklin was by no means a secret as the pair were spotted together in several social media snaps.
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Joshua, 32, will look to pick up the pieces of his career against hard-hitting American Franklin at the O2 Arena on April 1.
The fight will be his first since his back-to-back defeats to pound-for-pound king Usyk and he’s keen to turn in a good display for his new coach.
The former two-time unified heavyweight champion said: “I want to put on a show and impress my coach as he has high standards.
“Franklin has a good style and a great attitude, which he has shown in recent fights.
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He added: “Mentally and physically I feel ready.
“I’m looking forward to stepping back into the ring on April 1.”
Franklin, 29, said: “I’m ready to show the world why it’s time for me to take my place at the top of the Heavyweight division.
“Joshua had his time.  It’s my time to shock the world!
“This fight isn’t going to the judge’s card. I will have win number 22 come April 1.
Credit: SUNSPORT
🥊 Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin – Date, live stream, TV channel and all you need to know about heavyweight bout
“That ain’t no April Fool’s joke.”
Defeat to Franklin could bring about the end of Joshua’s career, with promoter Eddie Hearn admitting: “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.’
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“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

JERMAINE FRANKLIN was making insulation wool for a roofing firm last year and now holds the key to Anthony Joshua not stuffing up his career.After much hype and big-battle rumours, 33-year-old AJ has selected the 29-year-old American to be his comeback opponent on April 1 – no joke – at Wembley Arena.
Jermaine Franklin used to make insulation wool prior to his boxing careerCredit: Getty
Franklin faces Anthony Joshua on April 1Credit: Instagram / @989_assassin
Anthony Joshua’s career could be over if he loses to Jermaine FranklinCredit: Getty
Because Eddie Hearn insisted his star attraction and London 2012 legend would not accept a gimme-comeback.
He even suggested a Dillian Whyte rematch – but this will underwhelm fans.
Even though Franklin took Whyte the distance in November – where he lost a close decision – he proved he is desperately short of fitness and power and will pose little-to-no-threat to the Joshua rebuild.
Thankfully, the hard-working Michigan man will earn life-changing money that will keep one of those snug roofs over his and his family’s head for many years.
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In the build-up to his Whyte loss, where he pushed the Body Snatcher too close for comfort with frequent but zip-free digs, Franklin said: “Every fight helps, every payday helps.
“It’s not just one, it is all of them.”
When he was still a child growing up in the deprived-but-proud city of Saginaw, he moved into live with his grandmother Bernice, helping her around the home as she struggled with mobility. 
It seems he has always been fighting for his family and his community and now he has three children of his own, the cause has never been more important.
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Credit: SUNSPORT
🥊 Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin – Date, live stream, TV channel and all you need to know about heavyweight bout
“I moved in to help my granny out when I was still in high school,” he revealed. “To take care of her.
“That’s my grandmother so I can never just let her go without, it’s got to be done.
“That’s some of the things boxing has given me; how to control my temper and how to stay focused.
“My community has always supported me, even though it was a little rough growing up. But every area has a rough area so we just overcome as much as we can.
“We all hit that wall sometimes but they help me and push me.”
Franklin could have made some very easy money when he last visited the UK by acting up and making a name for himself.
He could have talked trash and put his high-heeled boots up on the press conference table, like Jarrell Miller did when he visited to sell a doomed AJ fight.
He could have labelled himself a “king” like Charles Martin did before he surrendered his world title to AJ on 2015, ending one of the worst reigns in the history of the division.
He could, like so many metaphorically and literally hungry fighters, have made a spectacle of himself.
A pantomime villain to secure himself a recurring role in a series of soap opera shows.
Instead, in both the build-up and the painful fall-out when he was on the harsh side of an away decision, he kept his cool and his class and helped get himself another fight.
But this is no overnight success, he has been grafting – as both an opponent and a sparring partner – for almost a decade.
Franklin said: “Everyday is a grind. Some days you wake up tired and cramping and it feels like you are fighting yourself, really. But I make it happen.”
His lack of knockout power means boxing intelligence is essential and he has been showing ring smarts for as long as he has been on the periphery of the big stage.
In 2019, when asked to evaluate the division’s biggest hitters, he said of Joshua, who was yet to lose to Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk: “AJ can punch but he will always be tired after about six or seven rounds.
“He will always punch himself out. All of those big guys are the same.”
But Franklin prefers to use his dialogue for something much more respectable.
He said: “I don’t pray for success. If you want success you have to go out and get it.
“I pray to God to thank him for the chance to go out and get my success and giving me the life that I already have.
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“Prayer has always been a big part of what I am doing.”
With God in his corner, he might be more dangerous than Team Joshua thinks.
Anthony Joshua (left) is heavy favourite to beat Jermaine FranklinCredit: PA
Jermaine Franklin (right) lost to Dillian Whyte in November 2022Credit: PA More