Jermaine Franklin probably won’t upset Anthony Joshua on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London.
That’s the opinion of the bettors, who made Joshua the 9-1 favorite to win the heavyweight bout. And no fan or expert with knowledge of the sport will argue with them, at least not harshly.
But could they be wrong?
Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) came to an unfortunate end after a massive loss just five games ago, when Andy Ruiz Jr. knock him out four times and stop him after seven innings. Ruiz is weaker than Franklin.
The former unified champion isn’t really at the top of his game, having lost 2-3 in his last five games. He was about to lose in a row to the undisputed former cruiser class champion Oleksandr Usyk, who won decisively in both matches.
And Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs) showed us something in his final fight. The 29-year-old from Saginaw, Michigan, lost to longtime rival Dillian Whyte by majority decision in November, his second game in a 2-and-a-half year break during which he worked to earn living.
Some observers – including Franklin – thought he was robbed but he received a great consolation bonus: a meeting with Joshua, one of the sport’s biggest names .
We will see if Franklin has the ability and mental toughness to compete against a fighter of the same lineage as Joshua. Still, it’s good to bet he’ll be physically ready.
He said he spent most of his training camp before the Whyte match losing fat. For this match, he entered camp in better physical condition, which allowed him to hone his fitness and focus more on strategy.
Franklin was 6 feet 2 and weighed 257 pounds for the match against Whyte. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn guessed he could arrive around 230 for Joshua, which could make for a faster, more versatile boxer.
“The circumstances surrounding this war are very different,” Franklin said, according to The Associated Press. “For the Dillian game, I was working before we got that phone call. I was not in the gym.
“It took us five to seven weeks to prepare for that match. In the time I had, I did what I could. This time I have more time to prepare and more time to get in shape.”
The match against Whyte at OVO Arena Wembley gave Franklin experience on a big overseas stage, which will be of great help to him on Saturday. And he proved with his solid performance that he wasn’t flustered.
He also appeared calm and composed before the fight with Joshua, as if he had been in many big fights. He’s confident.
“My confidence has always been great,” he said Thursday in his final pre-match press conference. “You are doing business the wrong way if you don’t really believe in yourself. This is not the right game for you.
“You have to have… maximum confidence. You just have to put your faith in the work [you’ve done].”
Predictors expect Franklin to become a footnote, a stepping stone that could lead to an all-British superfight between Joshua and owner Tyson Fury.
However, that is what Ruiz is supposed to be. And we know what happened there. Joshua decided mid-match that he couldn’t beat his opponent and signaled with body language that he didn’t want to continue.
Franklin doesn’t have the same track record as Ruiz, but he’s proven to be a heavyweight. That fact and Joshua’s uneven performances show that the concept of discomfort is not so far-fetched.
“I come from a place where there are not many possibilities,” he said. “I made it this far [so] everything is possible. … I believe I will be able to raise my hand at the end of the fight.”
