Anthony Joshua doesn’t “really care” whether Dillian Whyte or Jermaine Franklin deserved to win their 12-round fight four months ago.
Joshua just knows that spending 12 rounds in the ring against Whyte made Franklin a better, more confident fighter and will make Franklin more difficult for him to beat Saturday night. The former IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO heavyweight champ will face Franklin in their own 12-rounder at O2 Arena in London, where the British icon will attempt to snap his two-fight losing streak.
Most oddsmakers have installed Joshua as at least a 10-1 favorite versus Franklin, but Joshua doesn’t view this as a tune-up fight.
“I respect Jermaine,” Joshua told DAZN broadcasters Barak Bess, Ade Oladipo and Akin Reyes following a press conference Wednesday in London. “I respect myself. I respect him for sure. I don’t know where he’s ranked in the rankings, but if I just come off of two losses, then – I feel like it’s crazy of me to get a soft touch.
“That’s not the right place for me to be in my career because when you get soft touches, you build a false sense of confidence. … I’d rather have a tough fight. I’m looking forward to a tough fight on Saturday.”
Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs) was unproven prior to his fight with Whyte. The Saginaw, Michigan native pushed the hard-hitting, London-based contender, though, on his way to losing a majority decision November 26 at OVO Arena Wembley in London.
Judges Juergen Langos and Grzegorz Molenda scored their fight for Whyte by the same margin, 116-112. Judge Michael Alexander scored Whyte-Franklin a draw, 115-115.
Joshua focused more on how Franklin fought Whyte than on the official result. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist noticed that Franklin is a good counterpuncher and is crafty enough defensively to avoid getting hit with combinations.
“I’m a big guy, so people expect me to be upright and quite easy to hit,” Joshua said. “He’s not like that. He don’t really get hit with one-twos. When you look at Jermaine Franklin, he don’t really get hit with like one-twos. He kinda slips back, sits down on his punches, slips and slides. He’s a good operator in that ring, very efficient, very efficient.
“He got [in] the rounds with Dillian. That’s why I feel like the Jermaine Franklin I’m facing is gonna be better than what I saw that night. And I’ve learned as well like not [to] underestimate anyone, be on my game, even though I’m not worried like what anyone does in the ring because I’m not too invested in them. I’ve gotta focus on myself. But I don’t underestimate him, but I kinda focus on myself. I’m fully focused.”
Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) has lost back-to-back 12-round fights to unbeaten Ukrainian southpaw Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs), who beat him by split decision in their rematch August 20 at Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
DAZN will stream the bout between Joshua, 33, and Franklin, 29, as a main event worldwide. DAZN’s coverage of the Joshua-Franklin undercard is set to start at 7 p.m. BST and 2 p.m. EDT.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.