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Manchester Evening News

Sport

Will Freeman

When is Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin? Date, TV price and undercard fights

Anthony Joshua Jermaine Franklin Tyson Fury Oleksandr Usyk DAZN London Deontay Wilder Dillian Whyte

Anthony Joshua returns to the ring on Saturday night, with American heavyweight Jermaine Franklin facing the former world champion in a London fight.

Joshua has faced the toughest run of his career so far in recent years, with three defeats in his last five fights and the loss of his world titles. However, he will hope to rebuild his once fearsome reputation in 2023, with a fight against Franklin to start for the 33-year old.

Franklin was beaten by Dillian Whyte in November, and a confidence building outing for Joshua is what is expected from his 29-year-old opponent. Franklin was unbeaten until his last outing in London on November 26 where he was soundly beaten by Whyte at Wembley Arena.

A win against a Franklin may not immediately command a world title shot, however, it would prove that Joshua still has the fire in him to earn such a fight in the future.

Also on the card, Campbell Hatton takes on Louis Fielding, with his win against Michel Gonxhe in march fresh in the memory. Meanwhile, Fabio Wardley vs Michael Polite Coffie is the highlight of the undercard in their British title fight.

When is Joshua vs Franklin?

The fight takes place at the O2 Arena in London, with the date set for Saturday, April 1 and the main event expected to get underway at 10:41pm.

How to watch Joshua vs Franklin

The fight will be shown live on DAZN, with no pay-per-view in an interesting move from the streaming platform.

However, the bundle of packages available have risen in cost ahead of the fight, with a rolling monthly package now costing £19.99 while a yearly payment now costs £99.99. A full list of devices supported by the platform is available here.

You can view DAZN packages and sign up here.

What has been said?

Anthony Joshua:

“It’s big, it’s massive. It’s a big fight for me, for sure. I respect my opponent fully and respect everything he's been through and we're here to rock and roll. I respect my supporters as well so I have put in the work, I respect my coach as well so I want to make sure I get the job done in good finish. I like the fact you always dangle carrots in front of me, telling me if I do this, this is here and that's there always leading onto big things. I dream big and I want bigger and better things in my life. As I stated in the last press conference, I want to secure the bag and move on in my life."

Jermaine Franklin:

“First off, I want to say it is an honour to be back in the UK. I appreciate the opportunity. In the beginning I’ve just been on a little health journey. I changed my eating habits and changed stuff that I was consuming. My body weight just started falling off. We had more time to prepare for this fight so I’m more ready and I’m more in shape. I’m just ready to let the fireworks go. I’m just a huge fan of the sport. I watch a lot of boxing. I watched AJ fights way before we even had this opportunity or thought it was possible. I’m just a huge fan of the sport.

"My confidence is always great. I think you’re in the wrong business if you don’t truly believe in yourself – this is not the right game for you. You always have to have the extreme upmost confidence in yourself and you just have to put your faith in the work that’s gone on behind it. I’m going to get the win by any means possible. But if I can put him on his ass then that’s what I’m going to try to do. Anything is possible. I come from a place with not a lot of possibilities, and I made it this far so anything is possible. My passion for the sport, my team and my family; that’s all the motivation I need. I believe my hands get raised at the end of the fight.”