Jermaine Franklin has promised to become the second man to knock Anthony Joshua out [in competitive fights] with a stunning win on Saturday.
Underdog Franklin has warned the UK’s former darling Joshua that he is in for a ‘rude awakening’ this weekend.
The pair clash in a scheduled twelve-round heavyweight contest at The O2 in London. Joshua vs Franklin will be shown live worldwide on DAZN.
Joshua returns to an arena in the UK for the first time in seven years. However, the last time he graced an arena worldwide was at Madison Square Garden in 2019.
Anthony Joshua wiped out
On his heralded United States debut, Joshua was wiped out by Andy Ruiz Jr.
For his efforts, Saginaw’s ‘989 Assassin’ pushed Dillian Whyte into a close points loss at Wembley’s OVO Arena last November. He is since relishing his shot against one of the biggest names in British sport.
A famous win against ‘AJ’ would guarantee Franklin further opportunities in the glamor division.
Franklin discussed his intentions to knock Joshua further down the top division ladder: “For him, they say his career is on the line. For me, everything is on the line.
“That’s how I treat every fight. I’ve been boxing all my life. I’m not nervous about this. If you get nervous, you’re in the wrong sport.
“They’re probably looking at me like I’m a pushover or a walkover or something like that. But they’re going to be in for a rude awakening.
“A goal of mine is I want to be a unified world champion. I want to help boxers. Because I love the sport, I want to continue to help other fighters grow.
“And I want to give back to the sport what it gave to me.”
Jermain Franklin form
The American continued: “The circumstances around this fight are very different.
“For the Dillian fight, I worked a job before we got that phone call. I wasn’t in the gym. We took like five to seven weeks to get in shape for that fight.
“For the time I had, I did what I could. This time I’ve got more time to prepare and get in shape. We’re doing all we can.
“I showed people what I could do against Dillian. I showed people I could hang up there with some of the best. Dillian is a top ten to fifteen fighter. I showed people what I’m capable of.
“I don’t feel like I lost. When we came home, we worked on stuff. We got better, and we perfected our craft. We learned some different techniques and ways to attack.”
The once-beaten Franklin [21-1, 14 KOs] believes he did more than enough to secure the victory over Whyte – and some observers felt the same way.
Madison Square Garden repeat
The 29-year-old contender expects to face the very best version of Joshua and aims to repeat what Ruiz did four years ago.
“My performance against Dillian most definitely led to this fight. He could have picked anybody he wanted to, but he chose me.
“Maybe he’s trying to prove to himself that he can do something to me that Dillian couldn’t. Who knows.
“We don’t play boxing. I’ve come here to wake him and the rest of the world up.
“I feel like I’m winning hands down at the end of the fight. Regarding him with the trainers and stuff, I can’t pinpoint what style he will try to use.
“We just do our job and prepare for whatever style. Get ready to see a new and improved Jermaine Franklin.
“Fans will see me come out and fight way better than the Dillian fight. It is time for people to take me seriously.
“This is my new dawn. It’s my time to make my claim. I want to knock him out. That’s the goal.”
