Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin Fight Highlights

Anthony Joshua's most recent comeback in his turbulent career turned out to be a success on Saturday when he ended a two-fight losing streak at home and regained the title of heavyweight.Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) used a powerful jab to outpoint a hesitant but brave Jermaine Franklin and win by unanimous decision (118-111, 117-111 twice) at the O2 Arena in London. This was Joshua's third fight with as many trainers. CBS Sports also gave it a 117-111 score, even though Joshua was the clear winner... the 2012 Olympic gold medalist was far too conservative and looked unsure at times as he failed to drop or finish Franklin (24-2, 14 KOs). Seven months after suffering a second consecutive loss to the newly unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, the 33-year-old Joshua fired his trainer Robert Garcia after just one match and moved to Texas to train with Derrick James, the 2022 coach of the year. Joshua also increased his bet throughout the campaign by regularly telling the media that if he lost, he would retire. The outcome was a much more composed Joshua, who in the first half used his jab as a weapon before switching to a clinch-heavy, safety approach that James in the corner criticized. Joshua entered at a career-high weight of 255 pounds, but his endurance was unaffected, and he used the extra muscle to exhaust Franklin, a 29-year-old native of Saginaw, Michigan, by leaning on him.

Joshua, who suffered a bloody nose in the second round, was never in danger despite twice having his balance briefly shaken by hard right counters. Joshua outperformed Franklin by a score of 117 to 58, but according to CompuBox, he never really committed to knocking Franklin out. Joshua's victory over James was inconsistent, but the British fighter didn't hesitate to pursue his future aggressively by challenging the undefeated Tyson Fury, whose negotiations for a matchup with Usyk for the undisputed title recently broke down due to blame-shifting on both sides.

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"Short of a knockout, It was important to get the win," Joshua said. "Jermaine has a good duck and dive style. There were opportunities there but I respect him. He done well. I respect him and his team for preparing. I should have knocked him out but what can I say now? It's done and on to the next. "When people come to fight me, they muster up a different kind of energy. I feel like he had a lot of pride. He was here to prove himself and he didn't come to roll over. I wish I could've knocked him out, 100 percent. In the next 15 years, no one will remember this fight." "For me, it was really all about him getting out here and getting the win," James said. 

"I didn't care how he won it, I just wanted the win. After this, we will come back and build and build and build. You could see how good he fought on the inside and how great his jab was. "I wanted him to pick up the pace a bit in the last couple of rounds but it comes with time."

"I try to provide for the fans. Who do the fans want? They said Fury? The ball is in his court," Joshua said. "I would be 100 percent honored to compete for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world. "We have had dialogue before so let's hope we can get this done sooner than later. We are not getting any younger."

CBS Sports