29 March 2023 , 07:00
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Anthony Joshua will face American Jermaine Franklin as the former world champion looks to resurrect his career after back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua lost the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles to the Ukrainian fighter before losing out again in their rematch in August 2022.
The Olympic gold medallist is the heavy favourite ahead of the bout at 1/16 with Betfred while Franklin is 8/1 outsider and a draw is a distant 25/1. Franklin, nicknamed the 989 Assassin - a reference to the area code of Central Michigan where he is from - return to the UK after losing his last bout here to Dillian Whyte at Wembley Arena in November.
The bout, dubbed as New Dawn, hopes to put 'AJ' back in contention to become a world title contender once again but there has been calls for him to retire if it does not work out. Former cruiserweight world champion Johnny Nelson has gone on record to say Joshua should retire if Franklin wins the match in April - something that the two-time world champion has confirmed he would.
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