JERMAINE FRANKLIN ignited the flames of his burgeoning competition with Anthony Joshua by suggesting that AJ needs most possibly a little introspection and not another new coach.
For the second time in five months, Franklin will travel to England to face a heavyweight in London with a new coach after agreeing to fight Joshua on April Fools’ Day at the O2 Arena.
In November, the Michigan man was beaten across town by Buddy McGirt-trained Dillian Whyte and shouted robbers in the side room an hour after the final bell. His reward for that performance was a return to the capital.
Now Joshua will make his first appearance since forming a new relationship with an American coach following his decision to link up with respected Derrick James in January. The former world heavyweight champion invited Robert Garcia for a rematch in August against Oleksandr Usyk but after a second consecutive defeat to the Ukrainian, he decided not to continue the relationship.
Now Franklin, who has worked with current coach Jesse Addison since the age of 12, has questioned that decision. “Every time, just because you lose, it may not be your trainer’s fault,” Franklin said softly. “It could be you.
“I don’t blame the coach. This is the third trainer he has in three fights. At what point do you start blaming yourself and not the coach? It can’t be every coach. Not every coach can make you lose.
“I don’t know how to feel about Derrick James because you are inherently aggressive and Derrick James trains aggressive fighters so I don’t know what he can add to his game. But most of his guys are body hunters, you’re 1.6m tall, it’s hard for you to get down and get that kind of body.
“Perhaps he is just trying to find the coach he is most comfortable with. But I feel you and your coach should have a really solid relationship win, lose or draw. When you initially stay with these people, they don’t get paid. They have been with you for many years. They know you inside and out. Your relationship may be a little shaky but how you fix it and put it back together is up to you.
“If you don’t like something your coach is doing, you can talk to him and say to him: ‘I need you to do this and this. If you can’t reconcile that’s okay, this is business. You can go find another coach but at least I’ll try to fix what’s going on first.”
Just like in November, Franklin looked relaxed and unafraid of the situation. Modest, quiet and wearing a black tracksuit, the 1.9m tall Franklin smiles as he admits that his life has changed, at least financially, after two consecutive trips to England.
To many, he is seen as a cannon fodder for a revamped Joshua who has battled bigger names looming on the horizon. Franklin smiled again.
“I feel it’s a big opportunity for me,” he added. “Not because he changed coaches but because of the other crap we saw. Like the footwork, the fight with Usyk took me a bit by surprise. It’s another AJ as a boxer. I followed that, researched that.
“His footsteps are a big deal, I don’t think people see that because he is so bully and dominant that they don’t see some of the mistakes he makes with his feet. . But I’m faster than most people and have better defense than most people. Right now, we’re just trying to take advantage of his way of getting out of the way and setting certain things up based on his aggression.
“I was used to seeing AJ as a bull, a ferocious bull. Even though he’s not overly aggressive, he’s still dominant. But when I watched Usyk’s game, it was weird to see this little guy throw the pot. He’s not trying to knock you down, he’s just touching you and backing away. You can see all the disappointment on his face.
“In my opinion, no matter how he fights, we have a way to touch him in attack. We work for it all.”
It has been suggested that he could be another animal, a more dangerous one, he now has an L on his profile. “I’m dangerous anyway,” he said.
Meanwhile, Joshua, on the outside, insists he doesn’t despise Franklin, ‘Killer 989’ 21-1 (14) – a reference to the Saginaw area code.
This year marks a decade of professional competition for the London 2012 Olympic super-heavyweight champion but he says his focus in camp has so far been more intense than at any point in the past 10 years. . He said there was also a lot of introspection.
“I made a conscious decision last year to take a step back and put all my heart into boxing and nothing else so I definitely had that fire,” he said.
“I am a serious person. I wasn’t really in the camp to go get coffee and talk crap. I’m there to work, head down, work and prepare for a fight.
“One thing’s for sure, this is the most serious case I’ve ever done. The way I train, I study the game. People ask where is my head, ‘is his head in the game?’
“But that’s just one thing. Waking up and going to a boxer’s gym is everyday life, but it makes a difference when you put your heart into it. I had to remove countless distractions and put my heart back into it.”
