Anthony Joshua has faced-off with rival Jermaine Franklin ahead of his heavyweight return in April.
The British heavyweight will return for the first time since losing to Oleksandr Usyk when he takes on American contender Franklin on April 1 at London's O2 arena. A win for Joshua will likely revive talks over a second meeting with long-term foe Dillian Whyte who marginally outpointed Franklin late last year.
Joshua flew back to London from his US training camp with new coach Derrick James to attend a press conference to launch their showdown. And 'AJ' came face-to-face with Franklin for the first time, as the pair held a tense gaze at the front of stage in front of the watching world.
"I watched him, I compare him to some old-school fighters and fights we've watched back in the day to now," Joshua said. "Some people think boxing's based on popularity, but it's not it's based on skill and talent. He's got a lot of talent and a lot of skill, he's building himself up the ranks so credit to him and good luck to him.
"Looking at the Andy Ruiz fight you could see from the ring walk that something wasn't right. I've never come up and said 'this is the problem, this what it was', people can live on that. The difference is when you watch those fights on TV it's one thing. When you step in the ring with me, it's another. So you can watch as much as you want but until you face me you'll never know what it's like.
"I still feel fresh and young, not like a seasoned pro. I adapted to certain fights so I've not taken crazy punishment. At this point in my career I'm not like 'oh s*** I've taken so much punishment,' I still feel fresh. I like making money, straight up this is a prize-fighting sport."
"I've always been confident in myself," Franklin said, with his promoter Dmitry Salita noting they view him as the "unofficial winner" of his last bout with Dillian Whyte back in November. "I never lacked in confidence. But I've just been working, I got home and got right back in the gym [after the Whyte fight].
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"It was a messed up fight so I've just been in the gym working, waiting. I feel like I won the fight 7-5 from what I watched, but it's boxing. I won't cry about it, I know how that stuff goes. So it was just back to the drawing board for me, trying to get back in shape and look for different aspects, different ways to attack, different points to my game and just overall improvement.
"I believe I can beat anybody, there's never a doubt in my mind. If you doubt yourself you're in the wrong sport. As a man, he's a man just like I am, he bleeds just like I do so I have the confidence that I can pull this victory out. It would be an excellent moment for my career but I've got the will, I've got the heart for it so I'm ready to go to war as always."
Joshua will be looking to revive his heavyweight world title ambitions after losing his unified belts to Usyk before failing to win them back in a Middle East redemption mission last August. He has since ditched trainer Robert Garcia to team up with James, who works with the likes of champions Errol Spence and Jermall Charlo.
James has been backed by many to restore his aggressive power-punching style, which has failed to come to the fore in his recent fights since gaining revenge over Andy Ruiz Jr. Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn has suggested a win over Franklin could see him secure a mega-fight at the end of the year with Deontay Wilder currently in pole position.
