Next fight Anthony Joshua may be more warm-up than championship, but the anticipation for him to win may be greater than ever, at least according to his promoter, Matchroom head Eddie Hearn. Joshua will return to the O2 Arena in London on April 1st. His opponent is likely to be an American Jermaine Franklin, who made a name for himself last year with a close decision loss to Briton Dillian Whyte.
"A lot will depend on this return," Hearn told BBC 5 Live Boxing. "Because if AJ doesn't win this fight, we're in serious trouble."
Joshua lost to Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch last August in Saudi Arabia. Many then thought that Joshua performed better than in the first fight, and saw the merit of Robert Garcia, Joshua's new coach, in this.
Joshua is currently based in Texas, USA training with Derrick James, trainer of unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. and undisputed welterweight champion Jermell Charlo.
Despite Joshua's loss to Usyk, Hearn believes that his team is still determined to regain the titles one day.
“I'm telling you, this guy is still one of the top three heavyweights in the world to reclaim the title. He will return April 1 at the O2 Arena, likely against Jermaine Franklin,” Hearn said. — You will see the return of Anthony Joshua. To be honest, I believe that you will see a loud bid from a very dangerous guy, motivated to become a three-time world champion.”
Hearn also responded to critics deriding Franklin as Joshua's likely next challenger and arguing that the American should not be considered a serious opponent.
“Tyson Fury just defeated Deontay Wilder, just defeated Dillian Whyte and then fought Derek Chisora,” Hearn added. - Anthony Joshua was defeated by Usyk, and now he will fight Jermain Franklin, who, according to many, defeated Dillian Whyte. I want to say that this is a really tough fight."
