Anthony Joshua’s stock has dropped significantly in the last 12 months, with back-to-back defeats to Usyk putting him out of contention for any title fights. A defeat on Saturday night would almost certainly end his hopes of competing for a world title again, and he will be focused on making a statement in London. He is heavily favoured with the bookies at 1/16.
However, these odds might not tell the full story, with Jermaine Franklin looking to make a name for himself with a victory over AJ in London. Franklin has impressed on his rise up the rankings, suffering only his first defeat in November last year, a loss to Dylian White in a controversial fashion. Franklin is a serious outsider for the fight, with the bookies offering him at 7/1.
It’s hard to look past Joshua in the fight. Franklin comes into the fight in impressive shape, something that was noted by Eddie Hearn in the build-up, but it seems unlikely he will have the skill or experience to overcome Joshua. We fancy AJ to make a statement on Saturday night as he hopes to claw his way back into title contention.
Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin, while not having the typical big-fight feel of an AJ bout, still promises to be an explosive encounter. Here are our betting tips for the weekend’s big fight.
It’s been two years since Anthony Joshua was last victorious inside a boxing ring, and he will want to prove that he is still that boxer on Saturday night.
A points victory for Joshua will simply not do if he hopes to make himself a title contender once more. We know how powerful AJ can be on his day, and we fancy him to land a decisive knockout victory on Saturday at odds of 5/2 with bet365.
Joshua has 22 knockouts to his name, while Jermaine Franklin has 16. Very little about these two men would suggest that they intend to go all 12 rounds. Both fighters can deliver a knockout blow, and both will have a point to prove on Saturday night. We think a punt on the fight under 6.5 rounds at odds of 5/4 with bet365 is good value.
Jermaine Franklin showed in his fight against Dylian White in November that he is not a man that will go down easily. Whyte picked up the controversial split decision win, with many pundits and fans believing the judges got it wrong.
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Joshua is a different beast to Whyte, though, and he will limit Franklin in the early rounds before going in for the kill. We fancy Joshua to pick up the win between rounds 4 and 6 at odds of 16/5 with bet365.
Anthony Joshua has lost three of his last five matches, and the former champ will be out to show that his career is not over on Saturday night.
The last time Joshua fought in a non-title match was when he defeated Raphael Zumbano Love in 2015 in Birmingham. AJ has come a long way since then, and he will want to start his comeback journey on Saturday.
He has to win this match if he wants to be talked about in the same conversation as the likes of Usyk and Fury once again. We are backing AJ to pick up the dominant victory and get back on track in the O2.
