Boxing: What to know about Jermaine Franklin, Anthony Joshua’s opponent tonight

Nigerian-born Anthony Joshua will return to the ring Saturday night for the first time since losing back-to-back fights to Oleksandr Usyk.

Joshua, popularly called ‘AJ’, will take on American heavyweight, Jermaine Franklin, as he searches for his first win since 2020.

The bout will be held at the O2 Arena in Greenwich, London.

‘AJ’ has lost three of his last five fights but he will be hoping to get back to his best and redeem himself.

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Franklin, nicknamed ‘989 Assassin’, is coming off the back of a controversial defeat to Dillian Whyte.

Here are a few things you should know about AJ’s opponent:

Jermaine Franklin (989 Assassin) is an American professional boxer.

He was born in Saginaw, Michigan, USA on October 21, 1993.

Franklin made his professional boxing debut against Deshawn Jenkins at the age of 21 on April 4, 2015, defeating Jenkins via 1st round TKO (technical knockout).

He is yet to win a world title.

Franklin is 29 years old, he will turn 30 on October 23, 2023.

Franklin has fought 22 times with 21 wins and a single loss. As of April 2023, Franklin’s boxing record stands at 21-1 (14 KO wins).

He is 188 cm tall (6′ 2.02″) with a reach of 196 cm (6′ 5.17″). He fights out of the orthodox stance and presents an ape index of 8 cm (3.15″). Franklin has a 63.6% KO rate.

Some of Franklin’s best fights and notable victories include wins over Jerry Forrest, Cory Phelps, Danny Calhoun, Ed Fountain, Daniel Adotey Allotey, Daniel Pasciolla, and Adam Collins.

Franklin has had just a single loss in his professional boxing career so far. He suffered his first loss against Dillian Whyte via a 12-round unanimous decision on November 26, 2022, which ended his 21-fight winning streak.

While a Whyte rematch eluded him, Franklin now has an even bigger opportunity. A win over Joshua would catapult him into the world title mix and change his life forever.