[POLL] Heavyweight Boxing 1st April 2023: Joshua vs Franklin

[JollyGood]

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After suffering back to back defeats by Usyk and losing all his world titles in the process, Joshua is starting to make a comeback. Franklin had a perfect win record until he was defeated in a controversial points decision by Whyte in November 2022.

The fight takes place on 1st April 2023 at the O2 Arena in London. This will be an interesting fight because Joshua could make it three consecutive losses and Franklin could make it back to back defeats for himself. Both boxers have a lot at stake in the fight.

A fully fit and focused Joshua should win the fight even if it goes to a points decision but Franklin has the tools to cause an upset. This will be a very close fight and I am expecting Franklin to win it and cause Joshua to reconsider his career because he probably did not recover after losing to Usyk twice.

The bottom line is this, Franklin can afford to lose this fight and still continue as a professional boxer but if Joshua loses it will be almost impossible for him to be taken seriously again.








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[JollyGood]

Reserved

[Baofeng]

And for reference, the current odds as per Stake:



So Franklin is 7:1 underdog, and I don't know if he can pull an upset here. This is a must win for Joshua if he still have this plan of an All-British showdown with Tyson Fury in the future. As he has said previously, his motivation is money so he must be motivated here so that he can book the biggest payday of his career before he retires. So I think the pressure is on Joshua's shoulder, but I think he can overcome Franklin with a big statement and morale booster win.

[AverageGlabella]

So Franklin is 7:1 underdog, and I don't know if he can pull an upset here. This is a must win for Joshua if he still have this plan of an All-British showdown with Tyson Fury in the future. As he has said previously, his motivation is money so he must be motivated here so that he can book the biggest payday of his career before he retires. So I think the pressure is on Joshua's shoulder, but I think he can overcome Franklin with a big statement and morale booster win.

He certainly cannot. I do not know what is controversial about him losing to Whyte he did not perform well on the night and Whyte took advantage of that. Joshua is going to knock him out and I see this as a confidence builder for Joshua because he is on a losing streak and does not look the same fighter that he was. This is a attempt to salvage something from his career by feeding him a not well known fighter who has a good record but his record is inflated check who he has fought against and they are mostly unknown journey men that are not significant. Joshua finds his knock out power against Franklin and then Eddie Hearn can try and sell a Joshua to who ever wins out of Fury vs Usyk. It will be the last big pay day for Hearne with Joshua and I see why they are doing this warm up fight. I will not be watching as I think this is a tune up fight and Franklin has a very small chance of winning.

I think this move confirms the fury vs usyk bout because Joshua is now out of sight and has a fight. Fury and Usyk can get all the final deals done and they can finally fight. Winner takes Joshua and I think that is how they are going to sell this fight. Franklin is a good boxer but we is no where near the top 5 of boxing and should not be fighting the likes of Usyk or Joshua it is only because Joshua has lose a few fights in a row that they need to rescue his career. Franklin is the fall man and I am not saying he will go down easy but he is no match for Joshua.

[aioc]

So Franklin is 7:1 underdog, and I don't know if he can pull an upset here. This is a must win for Joshua if he still have this plan of an All-British showdown with Tyson Fury in the future. As he has said previously, his motivation is money so he must be motivated here so that he can book the biggest payday of his career before he retires. So I think the pressure is on Joshua's shoulder, but I think he can overcome Franklin with a big statement and morale booster win.

We should see a different Joshua he will never look at any opponent lightly again after the Ruiz loss and Usyk back to back losses where he is the favorite to win in those matches, he is always the favorite but looking at this fight Franklin can deliver an upset but he is nowhere the skill of Usyk, Joshua should take this fight very seriously another loss and it will dash all hopes to get back on top and we may never see the most awaited Fury - Joshua or even the Wilder - Joshua match.
Joshua is still young and can still make a lot of great fights but he should start somewhere and this is it.

[Dave1]

So Franklin is 7:1 underdog, and I don't know if he can pull an upset here. This is a must win for Joshua if he still have this plan of an All-British showdown with Tyson Fury in the future. As he has said previously, his motivation is money so he must be motivated here so that he can book the biggest payday of his career before he retires. So I think the pressure is on Joshua's shoulder, but I think he can overcome Franklin with a big statement and morale booster win.

We should see a different Joshua he will never look at any opponent lightly again after the Ruiz loss and Usyk back to back losses where he is the favorite to win in those matches, he is always the favorite but looking at this fight Franklin can deliver an upset but he is nowhere the skill of Usyk, Joshua should take this fight very seriously another loss and it will dash all hopes to get back on top and we may never see the most awaited Fury - Joshua or even the Wilder - Joshua match.
Joshua is still young and can still make a lot of great fights but he should start somewhere and this is it.

He is now under a new coach if I'm not mistaken, it was just a one and done deal with Robert Garcia in the second Ruiz fight. And obviously, it didn't work on there way and so Joshua hires another good.

Not sure though if this is a good way for him to changing coaches.

But let's see Franklin knows that he is going to be a huge underdog and he need to win by KO, judges might not favor him.

[TopTort777]

No way Franklin is going to win that. I bet he wont be able to jump above his head this time. He was recently beaten by Whyte (even though it was a close fight), and before that he had only experience of fighting "not big start". This is the fight between pro and average boxer. Franklin is not even a top5 of heavyweights. This looks more not a boxing fight, but Joshua's managers attempt to save AJ career. AJ needs an easy fight to recover mentally after two straight losses.

[coin-investor]

So Franklin is 7:1 underdog, and I don't know if he can pull an upset here. This is a must win for Joshua if he still have this plan of an All-British showdown with Tyson Fury in the future. As he has said previously, his motivation is money so he must be motivated here so that he can book the biggest payday of his career before he retires. So I think the pressure is on Joshua's shoulder, but I think he can overcome Franklin with a big statement and morale booster win.

We should see a different Joshua he will never look at any opponent lightly again after the Ruiz loss and Usyk back to back losses where he is the favorite to win in those matches, he is always the favorite but looking at this fight Franklin can deliver an upset but he is nowhere the skill of Usyk, Joshua should take this fight very seriously another loss and it will dash all hopes to get back on top and we may never see the most awaited Fury - Joshua or even the Wilder - Joshua match.
Joshua is still young and can still make a lot of great fights but he should start somewhere and this is it.

He is now under a new coach if I'm not mistaken, it was just a one and done deal with Robert Garcia in the second Ruiz fight. And obviously, it didn't work on there way and so Joshua hires another good.

Not sure though if this is a good way for him to changing coaches.

But let's see Franklin knows that he is going to be a huge underdog and he need to win by KO, judges might not favor him.

Joshua is still looking for the right formula to get him back on the right track we'll see what the new coach will bring in this fight, Joshua badly needs a win, the impression of him by the boxing community is he is a sour loser and a frustrated fighter who wants to get back on top, I don't think Franklin is a cherry-picked fight, the guy can punch has a good record can go all out because he has nothing to lose while Joshua could lose everything in this fight.
I'll pick Joshua to win the fight he still has it because he is still young.

[Baofeng]

So Franklin is 7:1 underdog, and I don't know if he can pull an upset here. This is a must win for Joshua if he still have this plan of an All-British showdown with Tyson Fury in the future. As he has said previously, his motivation is money so he must be motivated here so that he can book the biggest payday of his career before he retires. So I think the pressure is on Joshua's shoulder, but I think he can overcome Franklin with a big statement and morale booster win.

He certainly cannot. I do not know what is controversial about him losing to Whyte he did not perform well on the night and Whyte took advantage of that. Joshua is going to knock him out and I see this as a confidence builder for Joshua because he is on a losing streak and does not look the same fighter that he was. This is a attempt to salvage something from his career by feeding him a not well known fighter who has a good record but his record is inflated check who he has fought against and they are mostly unknown journey men that are not significant. Joshua finds his knock out power against Franklin and then Eddie Hearn can try and sell a Joshua to who ever wins out of Fury vs Usyk. It will be the last big pay day for Hearne with Joshua and I see why they are doing this warm up fight. I will not be watching as I think this is a tune up fight and Franklin has a very small chance of winning.

Just that's what I thought in this fight, Joshua really needs to make a statement win against Franklin and in doing so will build his confidence. So it's a good choice of opponent by Eddie Hearn.

And speaking of new coach, it will be Derrick James, the trainer of Jermell Charlo - 154 lbs unified champion and Errol Spence Jr, 3 belt holder in the welterweight division. So James has a lot of experience and hopefully this marriage will produce Joshua a win that he needed right now at this point of his career.

I think this move confirms the fury vs usyk bout because Joshua is now out of sight and has a fight. Fury and Usyk can get all the final deals done and they can finally fight. Winner takes Joshua and I think that is how they are going to sell this fight. Franklin is a good boxer but we is no where near the top 5 of boxing and should not be fighting the likes of Usyk or Joshua it is only because Joshua has lose a few fights in a row that they need to rescue his career. Franklin is the fall man and I am not saying he will go down easy but he is no match for Joshua.

The Fury vs Usyk might have been done, sealed and delivered already, most likely it's just the venue, Middle East or London. But then again, to insert Joshua's name, he need this win big time and hopefully he can deliver a knockout win and improved his chances a huge payday against Tyson Fury.

[JollyGood]

And for reference, the current odds as per Stake:



So Franklin is 7:1 underdog, and I don't know if he can pull an upset here. This is a must win for Joshua if he still have this plan of an All-British showdown with Tyson Fury in the future. As he has said previously, his motivation is money so he must be motivated here so that he can book the biggest payday of his career before he retires. So I think the pressure is on Joshua's shoulder, but I think he can overcome Franklin with a big statement and morale booster win.

Franklin is the underdog and has been given little chance to defeat Joshua by the bookies but this will not be a walk in the park for Joshua. Franklin is eyeing the same prize that Fury and Usyk have their own eyes on therefore he will be looking for a victory rather than get in the ring for the money.

We should see a different Joshua he will never look at any opponent lightly again after the Ruiz loss and Usyk back to back losses where he is the favorite to win in those matches, he is always the favorite but looking at this fight Franklin can deliver an upset but he is nowhere the skill of Usyk, Joshua should take this fight very seriously another loss and it will dash all hopes to get back on top and we may never see the most awaited Fury - Joshua or even the Wilder - Joshua match.
Joshua is still young and can still make a lot of great fights but he should start somewhere and this is it.

After what Ruiz did to Joshua by knocking him out, he was never the same boxer again. You are right Joshua will never underestimate any opponent again and he will not look at the Whyte vs Franklin fight and think he will win easily. The way I see it if Franklin wins he will get back on track for a chance to fight for a title but that would spell the end of Joshua as a professional boxer. Joshua has to win otherwise his career will probably be over.

[Fundamentals Of]

I don't agree with OP that this is a very close fight. This is a Joshua fight. Although Franklin has a decent record, it's just a record. He's not a star. I think this is a way for Joshua to redeem himself. He's given an easy opponent this time around. He could still be defeated of course especially if his back to back losses are still in his head, but he is fighting against a nobody. Joshua should be 100% ready for this fight and be able to knock Franklin out cold.

[robelneo]

I don't agree with OP that this is a very close fight. This is a Joshua fight. Although Franklin has a decent record, it's just a record. He's not a star. I think this is a way for Joshua to redeem himself. He's given an easy opponent this time around. He could still be defeated of course especially if his back to back losses are still in his head, but he is fighting against a nobody. Joshua should be 100% ready for this fight and be able to knock Franklin out cold.

Somewhat I agree with OP I know where his analysis comes from, boxing is not only a physical sport its also a mindset sport, for a boxer it's hard to accept that you are on top of the world and then you lose back-to-back this will question your level of skill, this is the reason why Joshua keeps changing his trainers, he needs to find the missing link to get back in contention.
Franklin knows that he has nothing to lose here and he knows that Joshua's motivation is at its lowest he already has a peek or insight into how Joshua lost those fights to fighters that were considered underdogs when they fought.
Fights could go either way, I like to make predictions a few days before they fight, probably in their press conferences, where we can see Joshua's appearance and motivation in this fight.

[joeperry]

I don't agree with OP that this is a very close fight. This is a Joshua fight. Although Franklin has a decent record, it's just a record. He's not a star. I think this is a way for Joshua to redeem himself. He's given an easy opponent this time around. He could still be defeated of course especially if his back to back losses are still in his head, but he is fighting against a nobody. Joshua should be 100% ready for this fight and be able to knock Franklin out cold.

Actually not a nobody based on the stats above you can see that their stats were close to each other, though we know that this match would be for Joshua but we can't just ignore the fact that he can still lose if he gets too comfortable or too much confidence. The odds were actually in favor of Joshua but there's no harm placing a little bet to Franklin after all that was a x7 win.

[Betwrong]

Like almost everyone else here, I think Joshua is going to win. I mean, apart from the odds and stuff, look at the poster of the event: the two faces looking at us. Doesn't it feel like Jermaine Franklin knows he's going to lose the fight? Also, recently Franklin said he is "going to aim for a knockout victory", which, in my opinion, means he is counting on luck. That is not the best mindset before the fight, if you ask me.

But I really admire your expecting Franklin to win. I love betting on the underdogs myself.

[TravelMug]

I don't agree with OP that this is a very close fight. This is a Joshua fight. Although Franklin has a decent record, it's just a record. He's not a star. I think this is a way for Joshua to redeem himself. He's given an easy opponent this time around. He could still be defeated of course especially if his back to back losses are still in his head, but he is fighting against a nobody. Joshua should be 100% ready for this fight and be able to knock Franklin out cold.

Actually not a nobody based on the stats above you can see that their stats were close to each other, though we know that this match would be for Joshua but we can't just ignore the fact that he can still lose if he gets too comfortable or too much confidence. The odds were actually in favor of Joshua but there's no harm placing a little bet to Franklin after all that was a x7 win.

And the quality of opponents that Joshua face though in the past, just imagine if Franklin faces some of them, for sure he might be knockout cold by this fighters. We might say that Franklin chances are very slim, but if he has nothing to lose then probably he will try to go for an upset, or he himself getting knockout by Joshua's power. I think Joshua possesses the power when he was still in the beginning. He might be gun shy though and being reluctant because he doesn't want the same outcome as his first lost to Andy Ruiz.

[Kemarit]

So Franklin is 7:1 underdog, and I don't know if he can pull an upset here. This is a must win for Joshua if he still have this plan of an All-British showdown with Tyson Fury in the future. As he has said previously, his motivation is money so he must be motivated here so that he can book the biggest payday of his career before he retires. So I think the pressure is on Joshua's shoulder, but I think he can overcome Franklin with a big statement and morale booster win.

We should see a different Joshua he will never look at any opponent lightly again after the Ruiz loss and Usyk back to back losses where he is the favorite to win in those matches, he is always the favorite but looking at this fight Franklin can deliver an upset but he is nowhere the skill of Usyk, Joshua should take this fight very seriously another loss and it will dash all hopes to get back on top and we may never see the most awaited Fury - Joshua or even the Wilder - Joshua match.

That seems to be the problem with AJ, after Ruiz took his 0, he seems to change his style and no longer the aggressive type of boxer we all know of him. That's why he knocks people with his power. Not sure who advises him to be like that, he is not a technical boxer, he is more of a brawler type of fighters.

Joshua is still young and can still make a lot of great fights but he should start somewhere and this is it.

Having a new coach might help, but as the saying goes, "you can't teach old dogs, new trick".

And when Joshua is hit on the face, he will go and revert back to being apprehensive again.

[yazher]

I'll go for Joshua this time since he really needs this fight and he needs to win it to regain his honor, more likely he has prepared than ever before. If he successfully beat Franklin then he will gonna be a step closer to fighting a more worthy opponent because he can still do it and he still has the chance to be a champion again. All he needs to do is to prove to everyone that he still got the power punches that he used to knock out his opponents in the past. I'm rooting for him to bounce and give him my vote in this fight.

[LogitechMouse]

No way Franklin is going to win that. I bet he wont be able to jump above his head this time. He was recently beaten by Whyte (even though it was a close fight), and before that he had only experience of fighting "not big start". This is the fight between pro and average boxer. Franklin is not even a top5 of heavyweights. This looks more not a boxing fight, but Joshua's managers attempt to save AJ career. AJ needs an easy fight to recover mentally after two straight losses.

Losing 2 consecutive bouts is a big disappointment already for the boxer, but to losing three straight especially to a boxer who like you said is an average boxer is very traumatizing to him.

He is starting to make a comeback after losing the belts to Usyk. As for the odds, Joshua is 1.08 while Franklin is 7.20 base on Stake. Not an attractive one, but if somebody wants to bet on the match, it will be how long the match will be. On stake, it is Under/Over 7.5 and Joshua has 22 of his 24 wins coming from KO so, maybe betting under 7.5 might be a good bet, but it may change anyway. I hope he can recover on his recent losses.

[TopTort777]

No way Franklin is going to win that. I bet he wont be able to jump above his head this time. He was recently beaten by Whyte (even though it was a close fight), and before that he had only experience of fighting "not big start". This is the fight between pro and average boxer. Franklin is not even a top5 of heavyweights. This looks more not a boxing fight, but Joshua's managers attempt to save AJ career. AJ needs an easy fight to recover mentally after two straight losses.

Losing 2 consecutive bouts is a big disappointment already for the boxer, but to losing three straight especially to a boxer who like you said is an average boxer is very traumatizing to him.

He is starting to make a comeback after losing the belts to Usyk. As for the odds, Joshua is 1.08 while Franklin is 7.20 base on Stake. Not an attractive one, but if somebody wants to bet on the match, it will be how long the match will be. On stake, it is Under/Over 7.5 and Joshua has 22 of his 24 wins coming from KO so, maybe betting under 7.5 might be a good bet, but it may change anyway. I hope he can recover on his recent losses.

I case he wins, I wonder who he will face next ? Fury? I would say that it will be a suicide mission. Wilder - probably a nice challenge for him. Have a third fight against Usyk? Dont think he is ready for that, as he has showed two identical fights. Imho he did not make much conclusion from their first fight and did same in second. Third fight wont bring anything new. Face someone, who used to be good (like Chisora). I think he wont get much of an experience from such a fight, only a pay check.

I would not risk placing a bet in such a match. Wont win much from 1.08 bet, but as they are heavyweight, chance to lose money is higher than usual. Who knows what kind of boxer AJ now. Franklin can pull an upset, like Ruiz did several years ago.

[Fundamentals Of]

I don't agree with OP that this is a very close fight. This is a Joshua fight. Although Franklin has a decent record, it's just a record. He's not a star. I think this is a way for Joshua to redeem himself. He's given an easy opponent this time around. He could still be defeated of course especially if his back to back losses are still in his head, but he is fighting against a nobody. Joshua should be 100% ready for this fight and be able to knock Franklin out cold.

Somewhat I agree with OP I know where his analysis comes from, boxing is not only a physical sport its also a mindset sport, for a boxer it's hard to accept that you are on top of the world and then you lose back-to-back this will question your level of skill, this is the reason why Joshua keeps changing his trainers, he needs to find the missing link to get back in contention.
Franklin knows that he has nothing to lose here and he knows that Joshua's motivation is at its lowest he already has a peek or insight into how Joshua lost those fights to fighters that were considered underdogs when they fought.
Fights could go either way, I like to make predictions a few days before they fight, probably in their press conferences, where we can see Joshua's appearance and motivation in this fight.

Although it seems Franklin has nothing to lose here, it is actually a huge opportunity for him to defeat Joshua. Joshua is coming from a back-to-back loss and Franklin is coming from his one and only loss which is controversial. Franklin will have to grab this opportunity not only to recover from his majority decision loss but also to make a bigger name by defeating Joshua. Joshua may not anymore be as shining as he once was but he's still popular. And Franklin is young. He could still climb up the ladder in the heavyweight division.

If I remember it right, Usyk was the favorite and Joshua the underdog the second time they fought.

I don't agree with OP that this is a very close fight. This is a Joshua fight. Although Franklin has a decent record, it's just a record. He's not a star. I think this is a way for Joshua to redeem himself. He's given an easy opponent this time around. He could still be defeated of course especially if his back to back losses are still in his head, but he is fighting against a nobody. Joshua should be 100% ready for this fight and be able to knock Franklin out cold.

Actually not a nobody based on the stats above you can see that their stats were close to each other, though we know that this match would be for Joshua but we can't just ignore the fact that he can still lose if he gets too comfortable or too much confidence. The odds were actually in favor of Joshua but there's no harm placing a little bet to Franklin after all that was a x7 win.

Stats don't mean everything. If you look closer, Franklin hasn't really accomplished much despite his previously undefeated record.

It is still possible an upset could happen. If you think of that possibility and the betting odds of it, a small bet on Franklin may be good.