Anthony Joshua will begin his comeback trail with a fight against Jermaine Franklin at London’s O2 Arena on 1 April. The former world heavyweight champion suffered a second consecutive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last August in Saudi Arabia.
Tyson Fury instigated talks over an all-British bout weeks after that split decision loss in Jeddah but no world title fight was forthcoming and now Joshua will return to action against Franklin.
after newsletter promotion
He confirmed the contest in a tweet that contained a poster for the fight and said: “A new dawn.” Joshua was ringside in November when Franklin lost to Dillian Whyte at Wembley Arena, the first defeat of the American’s 22-fight career.
There had been speculation before Joshua being beaten by Usyk for a second time that the former Olympic champion may walk away from the sport. It was immediately put to bed after the third loss of his career when he showed his willingness to take on Fury during September talks.
While those plans fell through and conjecture over a rematch with Whyte never took off, he will begin his latest quest on the path to another world title shot at the O2 Arena. Joshua last fought there in the summer of 2016 when he beat Dominic Breazeale. It was his seventh contest in Greenwich and maintained his 100% record there.