Boxing needs a lift. For so long it was Anthony Joshua who almost single-handedly carried the sport on his shoulders. The glory years are over for him, yet now the spotlight falls on AJ again to return it to supremacy.
Fans have had disappointment after disappointment in the last few months. First the farce of Conor Benn‘s bout with Chris Eubank Jr being called off due to the former’s failed drugs test.
Then Fury got our hopes up by offering Anthony Joshua a world title shot – only to then pull the rug from underneath him by setting last-minute deadlines. This month, with an undisputed showdown against Oleksandr Usyk seemingly locked in, talks were suddenly scrapped as the pair failed to agree terms.
Boxing has been well and truly in the gutter. But Joshua now has the chance the lift it out again by securing a fight with Fury if he sees off Jermain Franklin at the O2 Arena on Saturday night, as reported by Sportsmail.
With a bruised ego and his air of invincibility well and truly gone, these are uncharted waters for Joshua as he prepares for a new dawn.
Anthony Joshua could give boxing a huge lift by setting up an epic fight against Tyson Fury (R)
But the British star will first have to negotiate his way past Jermain Franklin (right) on Saturday to have any chance of setting up the long-awaited showdown
Opponents like these were once seen as cannon-fodder for AJ. When he came up against Dominic Breazeale, Carlos Takam, Eric Molina and even Alexander Povetkin, we would ask, ‘what round will he knock him out?’. These days it is not so clear-cut.
It’s been three years since we saw AJ at his swash-buckling best when he blasted out Kubrat Pulev in the ninth round at Wembley Stadium. Even before then, Joshua’s confidence and explosive style took a knock after being stunned by Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 – before having to carefully outpoint him in the Saudi Arabia rematch.
After back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, perhaps Joshua can finally rediscover his old self, the side to him that made so many fall in love with boxing. It almost looked like the pressure was off him, before Hearn revealed Fury could be on the line if he beat Franklin.
The all-British dust-up he has craved for so long – that the public have craved for so long. That his promotional team Matchroom crave to bring themselves back into the limelight after a handful of set-backs. Joshua can’t just win on Saturday night, he’s got to win well to put the irons in the fire and perk up Fury’s attention.
We need to see a statement Joshua knockout win to show he is back in business and stoke up excitement for what would be one of the biggest events in British boxing history. Anything less and Fury will probably laugh him off. And he dare not lose. There would be no coming back from that.
No coming back in his career, likely. No coming back for Matchroom. Eddie Hearn – whose fighters are now on streaming platform DAZN – has already lost a host of stars to Sky Sports. Joshua Buatsi, Lawrence Okolie and Joseph Parker have all defected to his rivals BOXXER.
Kell Brook and Amir Khan also left to set up their grudge match with Ben Shalom’s company before sailing off into the sunset. Matchroom need a big Joshua win.
Hearn has made no secret of his trepidation about whether all of this works out – and how much is riding on Saturday’s big fight – where Joshua will face a tough opponent whose only defeat came in a majority decision defeat to Dillian Whyte last year that many felt could have swung the other way.
Joshua has lost his air of vulnerability and is seeking to return to his explosive best
The 33-year-old reigned as world champion for five years and needs to rediscover his old ways to perk up the attention of Fury
His promoter Eddie Hearn has already admitted he is ‘nervous’ for the fight knowing Fury lies in wait for Joshua
‘I truly believe that as long as AJ beats Franklin we will see him against Fury in the summer,’ he told Sportsmail this week.
‘I have had talks this week with George Warren (Fury promoter Frank Warren’s son and consigliere) and fundamentally the original contract is still in place.
‘People talk about whether his career is over if he loses this fight. Well, his world title ambitions are in tatters if he loses this fight and that’s what’s important to him.
‘And we all know that the timing is perfect now, as it happens because of the circumstances with Usyk. And that this is the very last chance for this huge fight to happen. Now I’m even more nervous about Saturday night.
The last chance? It could be. We all thought that came in summer 2021 when Fury and Joshua were locked in to fight in Saudi Arabia before the Gypsy King was forced to face Deontay Wilder following a court arbitration.
Fury and Joshua scrapped negotiations to fight last year but the Gypsy King will be tempted by a summer bout
Fury needs an opponent after talks for an undisputed clash against Oleksandr Usyk collapsed
Then we thought it was really the last opportunity when Fury offered Joshua that surprise wildcard in November. Fury said he wasn’t interested in facing AJ again after growing tired of failed negotiations.
But if there’s one thing he likes, it’s making lots of money. Fighting Joshua would provide much more than he would ever stand to make against Usyk.
Joshua believes the lucrative rewards from their match-up mean Fury will always be tempted – claiming this week that his rival ‘needs’ him.
‘There’s no better time!’ he told the Mirror. ‘I feel like now with Fury, provided the Usyk fight doesn’t happen and he doesn’t fight anyone in between, I think he needs me at the minute.
‘We’ve tried to make that fight three times. That [second one] was signed and sealed, I was actually training for that and then it fell through. Then we had this recent one where I just lost and he gave me a deadline.
‘I took it and told Eddie, “Let’s look at the situation”, but it was difficult when someone is dictating you and put you under that amount of pressure.’
Beating Franklin should be no cakewalk for Joshua. At least not on paper.
Beating Franklin will be no cakewalk for Joshua – but if he can return to winning ways then the rewards could be lucrative
The 29-year-old is down-to-earth and unassuming but he gets his business done inside the ring.
The American fighter from Saginaw, Michigan, has won 21 of his 22 bouts. Of those victories, 14 have come by way of knockout.
He showed steel against Whyte in November and proved he is no pusharound. Whyte secured a win thanks to scores of 115-115, 116-112, 116-112 – with Franklin claiming he was ‘robbed’. Regardless, his stock rose that night.
Joshua – who was watching the fight ringside – will be tasked with overcoming a fighter who has not only never been stopped, but one who has never been dropped.
If Joshua is the real deal – and if he is to rekindle his old explosive ways – then he should have no trouble putting Franklin to the sword. His career depends on it. Matchroom’s future depends on it. The boxing world depends on it.
