Eddie Hearn has revealed that Jermaine Franklin’s orthodox boxing stance was a key reason for the American being picked as Anthony Joshua’s next opponent.
Joshua will fight Franklin at the O2 Arena in London on 1 April, as the Briton seeks to bounce back from two straight points losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
Southpaw Usyk stayed unbeaten by seeing off “AJ” twice, taking the unified heavyweight titles from Joshua in their first clash, in 2021, then retaining the belts in their rematch last August.
“Really it came down to the style,” Hearn told Matchroom, when discussing Joshua vs Franklin.
“You know, I think AJ’s coming off the back of two fights against a southpaw – the best southpaw in boxing, in Oleksandr Usyk – and wanted an orthodox fighter.
“The training team really sort of looked at it and said: ‘Look, if we’re gonna go and fight [Deontay] Wilder, Dillian Whyte, Tyson Fury, there’s no point in us going back and fighting a southpaw.”
Franklin, 29, last fought in November, suffering his first defeat as a professional – a controversial decision loss to Whyte.
Hearn had said before that bout in London that the winner would likely be next for Joshua, 33, leading Whyte to express frustration last week as rumours swirled that Franklin would fight AJ anyway.
However, Hearn has now suggested that Whyte could be next for Joshua, if the Olympic gold medalist can overcome Franklin in April. A showdown with Whyte could take place this summer, with Hearn still keen to make a bout between Joshua and Wilder or Fury before the end of the year.
Joshua’s compatriot Fury is expected to put his WBC title on the line in a clash with Usyk this spring, with the winner set to be crowned undisputed heavyweight champion.
Meanwhile, American Wilder could face Andy Ruiz Jr next – the only man to beat Joshua professionally other than Usyk.
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