Anthony Joshua has been told that his career will not be over should he be beaten by Jermaine Franklin this weekend at the O2 Arena in London.
This comes from Franklin himself, who has said that a defeat would not spell the end for Joshua despite the promises of the 33-year-old earlier this week. 'AJ' embarks on a new chapter in his career this weekend after thee defeats in five fights, with the prospect of a defeat to Franklin extending that run.
He has hired a new coach, Derrick James, for the fight, with the hope that they can defeat a man who lost on his UK debut in November in a narrow points defeat to Dillian Whyte. Franklin, 29, has a 21-1 record, with 14 knockouts to his name and takes on Joshua, who has won 22 of his 27 fights by knockout.
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Speaking on Monday in the build-up to the fight, Joshua made hints towards his future, saying: "I will. I will retire if I lose. I'm not here to battle people. If people want me to retire I will retire.
"I'm not going to fight if people don't want me too. It's not even about the money. It's about the competitor in you. That's what's important. It [pressure] comes with the business and it comes with the territory, I know that.
"I know when I am retired, I am gonna be chilling. I'm gonna be thinking f**k everyone. I am done. You lot put so much pressure on me so when I am done, the chains are going to be gone. I am going to be laughing and loving life."
However, Franklin has praised Joshua, saying that even a defeat on Saturday would not be the end for the Watford born fighter.
Franklin told Sporting Post: “He has nice power from the right side but I have a great chin, so I'm not too worried about his power, he’s going to have to try and physically impose that on me. I’ve got good defence, so I'm not going to be a sitting target, somebody who is just there to get hit.
‘I’ve worked on being more explosive, being prepared for a lot of stuff he likes to do, being mentally prepared for a brawl and being physically fit for a brawl. I’m not going in there looking for that type of fight but if it comes I'm not running from it.
“A good night for me is knockout at any time, a good night is my hand raised with AJ on his ass. But I'm going in there to be smart and to protect my health. I’m not saying I'm looking for it, but if I see an opportunity then I'm going to take it.
“I don’t think his career will be over if he loses. You can always come back, you can always reclaim your stake, you just have to work hard and be ambitious enough.”
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