Anthony Joshua left red-faced as fans take stance on Franklin fight

Boxings fans have made their feelings on Anthony Joshua’s bout with Jermaine Franklin next month clear with thousands of tickets still available. The O2 Arena’s website shows that there are loads of sections with available seating just a month out from the fight on April 1 while some fans have branded the contest a ‘nothing fight’.

AJ has lost three out of his last four bouts and so is set to take a step down in competition in order to rebuild some momentum against the American.

Franklin (21-1) last fought in November in a losing effort against Dillian Whyte but earned plaudits for taking the Brit down to the wire after being widely written off by critics.

Meanwhile, Joshua (27-3) had the option to face either Otto Wallin, Demsey McKean, or Franklin and went with the latter.

Providing all goes well against Franklin, he is expected to box Whyte in June followed by a blockbuster showdown against Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder to close out the year.

But with AJ expected to get back on track against Franklin next month, it seems fans aren’t overly fussed, with a huge array of seating still without buyers to watch the fight in person.

There is still just under four weeks to go until fight night but early indications suggest that Joshua could struggle to sell out the arena despite having previously filled far bigger venues on multiple occasions such as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley.

AJ’s stock has fallen considerably over the past few years following back-to-back defeats against Oleksandr Usyk. Meanwhile, Express Sport readers recently ruled out Joshua regaining the world titles with 82.7% of the 4,862 voters in our poll believing his time at the top is over. His comeback fight with Franklin also ranked bottom in our recent poll which asked Express Sport readers which fights in 2023 they were most looking forward to. Tyson Fury vs Usyk came out on top and was followed in order by Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia, Josh Taylor vs Jack Caterall II and Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury.

Joshua’s struggles to sell tickets comes after Floyd Mayweather’s UK debut vs Aaron Chalmers was largely snubbed by fans over the weekend.

Fans were reportedly offered heavily discounted tickets to Mayweather Jr’s exhibition against ex-MMA fighter Chalmers at the O2 Arena just hours before the bout last Saturday night.

Mayweather was making his UK debut in what marked his latest exhibition fight, the boxing great following up previous contests against the likes of Logan Paul and Deji Olatunji by taking on former Geordie Shore reality TV star Chalmers.

The American had travelled across from the states accompanied by a sizeable entourage, prompting jokes on social media their presence could help fill the empty seats in London.

Despite reports of empty seats, Mayweather thanked the “unbelievable” fans in the UK for what was his first-time ever fighting on the shores.

After his convincing win, the 50-0 boxing icon, said: “I would like to thank all the fans in the UK. The fans are unbelievable. This guy is tough as nails, we had a chance to come together.

“I came to entertain the people and I’m glad I came. I have a lot of experience. He has to continue to work hard and believe in himself. He’s got a tough chin – anything is possible.”