Anthony Joshua begins a new chapter of his career on Saturday night, with Jermaine Franklin the opponent for his first fight since last August’s defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
Successive defeats have left Joshua with a record of three losses in his past five fights and the fight against Franklin provides a perfect opportunity to begin a resurgence. Such is the current chaos at the top of the heavyweight division, a win could feasibly set up ‘AJ’ for a world title fight within the next 18 months, with another fight likely to take place before then.
Franklin is regarded as one of the more dangerous upcoming fighters in the division, however, and is still feared despite defeat to Dillian Whyte at Wembley Arena in November. With 21 wins and one loss, Franklin, at 29-years-old, had been touted as a future champion before a tough defeat to Whyte.
Anthony Joshua comes into this fight as a huge favourite with the best offshore gambling sites. He is priced at -1000 to get back to winning ways here and begin his road back to the summit of the heavyweight division.
Here at SportsLens we can see the former two-time heavyweight champion securing a knockout victory here within a three round range. Betting on what rounds Joshua will win in certainly gives bettors added value when selecting their boxing bets.
Anthony Joshua has 22 KO victories in his 24 wins, with 16 of them coming in the first half of the fight. He will be desperate to make a statement on Saturday night, and we think he will do just that by winning the fight by knockout in the second quarter of the bout.
When it comes to selecting an individual round in which the fight will end, the odds present huge value to boxing bettors. For this Joshua vs Franklin fight, we can see Joshua getting rid of his American rival in the fifth round of the contest.
Here at SportsLens we can see the former two-time heavyweight champion grinding down his opponent in the early rounds, before stopping him five rounds into the fight. Joshua came in at a career heaviest 255-pounds, with Franklin weighing 23-pounds less than his last fight in November (234-pounds).
Links >> Stream 1 HD Stream 2 HD Stream 3 HD Stream 4 HD
Joshua is a huge puncher, and has won all but two of his fights by knockout. The majority of these stoppages have come early, and we think with Joshua weighing-in heavier on Friday, that he will be looking to put in a statement performance by knocking Jermaine Franklin out relatively early on.
On paper, this is a tough fight for Joshua on his ring return, despite the best US betting apps heavily favoring ‘AJ’. Can the two-time heavyweight champion return and get back to winning ways? Will ‘989 Assassin’ defy the odds and claim the biggest victory of his career? We’ll find out on Saturday…
If you fancy a bet on this huge main event, read on and check out our best boxing betting apps as well as Joshua vs Franklin predictions.
