Eddie Hearn is adamant Anthony Joshua will return with ‘VENGEANCE’ when he makes his boxing comeback against American Jermaine Franklin in April… as he lashes out at suggestions the Brit is ‘finished’ as a top fighter
- Anthony Joshua is reeling from back-to-back defeats against Oleksandr Usyk
- Eddie Hearn says the heavyweight is far from finished ahead of his comeback
- But he admits defeat against Jermaine Franklin will bring ‘major problems for AJ
Eddie Hearn has leaped to the defence of Anthony Joshua as he insists the Brit is ready to return with ‘vengeance’.
Joshua has not stepped foot in the ring since his second successive defeat by Oleksandr Usyk in August 2022 – having lost his WBA, WBO and IBF belts to the Ukrainian in September 2021.
The 33-year-old is set to make his return when he goes head-to-head with American Jermaine Franklin on April 1 at the O2 Arena, London.
And promoter Hearn says that despite back-to-back defeats against Usyk, Joshua is far from finished and has set his sights on reclaiming the heavyweight titles.
‘The disrespect on this man’s name is unbelievable. The people that want to downplay his achievements in the sport,’ he said about AJ on DAZN.
British heavyweight Anthony Joshua is set to mark his return against Jermaine Franklin in April
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn (L) says he is far from finished ahead of his comeback fight
‘You people who want to say he’s finished in the sport; get f***ing ready for the return of Anthony Joshua on April 1st.
‘This guy is out there in Texas. He’s working and grinding everyday. This guy has got money in the bank. He’s got world championship belts on the wall. He don’t care for either of them.
‘He cares for the sport of boxing. He cares for regaining the world heavyweight title.
‘I’m telling you, he’s coming back with a vengeance. Write him off at your peril.’
Hearn has admitted pressure will be on Joshua when he fights Franklin, who lost to Dillian Whyte last November, and that defeat would bring ‘major problems’.
‘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,’ Hearn told BBC.
Joshua has not stepped foot in the ring since his second-successive defeat by Oleksandr Usyk
Meanwhile, Franklin is coming into the bout on the back of a defeat against Dillian Whyte
‘I believe you’ll see a statement from a guy who is very dangerous, very motivated to become a three-time heavyweight world champion.’
Franklin went toe-to-toe with Whyte in November 2022 but the British boxer emerged victorious with a majority decision after their 12-round contest at Wembley Arena.
Franklin felt as though he had been ‘robbed’ – with Michael Alexander scoring their bout level at 115-115 while Juergen Landos and Grzegorz Molenda scored the fight 116-112 in favour of Whyte.
