Anthony Joshua is hoping to impress his new trainer Derrick James when he fights Jermaine Franklin.
Joshua, 33, split with longtime trainer Robert McCracken after losing his heavyweight titles to Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021. The Brit teamed up with Robert Garcia in the hopes of winning his belts back against Usyk in their rematch last August, but he lost a split decision to the Ukrainian and subsequently parted ways with Garcia.
'AJ' will now travel out to Texas ahead of his fight against Franklin at The O2 arena on April 1 to work with James, who is an accomplished trainer that has led the likes of Errol Spence Jr and Jermell Charlo to world titles. The 51-year-old was awarded Ring Magazine's Trainer of the Year in 2017 and was also recognised for his coaching skills by the WBC in 2020.
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"I'm looking forward to stepping back into the ring. Mentally and physically I feel ready," Joshua said. "I want to put on a show and impress my coach as he has high standards. Franklin has a good style and a great attitude, which he has shown in recent fights. This will be my first fight broadcast on DAZN in the UK and it will be globally available on the platform."
Granted Joshua's against Franklin is part of a five-year partnership with DAZN, it will be included in the monthly £9.99 subscription to the streaming service and fans will not need to pay a pay-per-view fee to watch it. This is a rare occurrence for the former two-time heavyweight champion, who has exclusively fought on pay-per-view for the last seven years of his career.
Joshua's work ethic has been complimented by his new trainer James, who admitted he was impressed with what he saw from the Brit. James labelled Joshua as a "student" of the game, telling Fight Hype : "Most big guys are kind of lazy or whatever, but I saw the way we’d work. He’s a student.
“He does [fit in.] He doesn’t want to stop. I really was [impressed]. It was great to see. Any fighter that has a new trainer, it’s all about manoeuvring and getting meshed to where you really know what he’s doing before you go into some big fights. Bring those winning ways back. That’s the most important part about it.”
