Anthony Joshua has vowed to "dig a bigger grave" for Jermaine Franklin after the American's trash talk ahead of their fight.
Joshua, 33, takes on Franklin this Saturday in his United Kingdom return as the former two-time heavyweight champion fights at the O2 Arena for the first time in eight years. 'AJ' and his American counterpart haven't exchanged many threats in the lead-up to their fight, but Franklin recently promised to put Joshua "on his a**" when they step foot in the ring.
“I’m more ready, more in shape and ready to let the fireworks go,” Franklin said. “I’m going to get the win by any means possible but if I can put him on his a** that is what I’m going to do. After Saturday, I believe my hand gets raised at the end of the fight.”
Joshua didn't give much of a response to his rival's threat, but warned Franklin that the more he speaks, the bigger his "grave" will be. "It’s the worst time [to be fighting me],” Joshua said. “The more he talks, the bigger grave he digs for himself, but it is what it is.”
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'AJ" admitted he respects Franklin, who is a massive underdog in the fight, but predicts his rival will be left bloodied up. He added: “I could say a lot of things about him, but I respect my opponent. It’s not for me to talk, it’s for Eddie [Hearn, promoter] to do all the talking. It’s for me to do my job on Saturday and that’s really what I’m focused on. I think we’ll see blood.”
"In terms of entertaining, as you hear, you don't play boxing. At the same time, people from years back like the empires, they just loved people coming together and fighting. So they'll be entertained regardless and I think we'll see blood. I'm just really looking forward to getting in there, I'm so happy I'm fighting again.”
Franklin was controversially beaten by Joshua's old rival Dillian Whyte last November, marking the American's first professional defeat. The 29-year-old admitted he was watching Joshua's fights long before being scheduled to face the Brit and is immensely confident ahead of the huge task in front of him.
"I watched his fights way before we even had this opportunity or I thought this fight was possible," Franklin said of his rival. "I'm just a huge fan of the sport and my confidence is always great. I think you're in the wrong business if you don't truly believe in yourself; this isn't the right game for you, so you always have to have the utmost confidence in yourself."
