Eddie Hearn has warned Anthony Joshua that he will have a ‘major problem’ if he is unable to beat Jermaine Franklin in his upcoming fight. AJ is set to return to the ring for the first time in eight months on April 1 at the O2 Arena, London.
The pressure is mounting on Joshua as he looks to make a third run at heavyweight gold. Despite a clear step down in competition against Franklin following 12 straight world title fights, a loss in his next contest would be catastrophic for the Brit’s career trajectory.
Joshua has aspirations of closing out this year with a blockbuster bust-up against either Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury but won’t be able to even entertain the idea if he falls at the first hurdle. Hearn is all too aware of this fact but remains confident that his man will get the job done.
“There’s a lot of pressure to come back,” Hearn told BBC 5 Live Boxing. “Because if AJ don’t win that fight, then we’ve got a major problem.”
Responding to the latter, Hearn continued: “Tyson Fury has just beat Deontay Wilder, just beat Dillian Whyte and then fought Derek Chisora. Anthony Joshua’s got defeat to Usyk, defeat to Usyk, and fighting Jermaine Franklin who many feel beat Dillian Whyte. I mean, it’s a really tough fight.”
Joshua has relocated to America for the next few months as he begins his first camp with new trainer Derrick James over in Dallas, Texas. The pair joined forces after AJ split with former lead Robert Garcia following only four months of working together.
James is the mastermind behind the successes of pound-for-pound greats Errol Spence Jr and Jermell Charlo. His fighters are traditionally aggressive, spiteful and look to finish proceedings early – the perfect fit for AJ.
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