Anthony Joshua says his 'heart is back in boxing'

Heavyweight Anthony Joshua says he has put his heart back into boxing as he prepared to face American fighter, Jermaine Franklin. The two will meet at the O2 Arena in London on April 1st for a thrilling showdown.

The Briton standing 6ft 6in is now chasing his first win after his 2020 successive defeats against Ukraining fighter Oleksander Ysyk. Joshua is back in the ring to make an appearance two years later, looking more serious and lethal than ever!

The 2020 clash, billed as ‘the Rage on the Red Sea’, displayed a more mature version of Joshua, who showed some aggressiveness and intent.

However, he could not match the brilliance and the ring awareness of the Ukrainian fighter. Usyk improved his record to a daunting 20 wins out of 20 contests.

The judges scored the fight 115-113 to Usyk. It was a very close match-up where the former Ukranian cruiserweight beat the heavyweight champion.

At the end of the fight, a furious Joshua picked up two of Usyk’s belts and dropped them outside the ring. Call it frustration or call it passion, Joshua gave it his all but was still not the deserved winner.

“I’ve always tried to make an empire but I made a conscious decision last year to put my heart into boxing and nothing else,” shared Joshua.

The two-time heavyweight champion took two years off to get his head back in the game. He is chasing another opportunity to redeem himself in a major stage.

Since his last bout at the O2 arena, where he fought seven times, Joshua is looking to regain his platform but will have to climb his way up again.

Joshua will face Jermaine Franklin, the 29-year-old American fighter who is looking to also make a name for himself. Franklin is the clean underdog, just as he was when he lost to Dillian Whyte last December.

Franklin is an opponent many think to be beneath Joshua but has been picked for this fight with the intention of boosting the former heavyweight champion.

Joshua needs a win according to the promoter, Eddie Hearn. describing this fight coming up as “an important chapter” in Joshua’s life.

Joshua and his team know that it’s impossible to bring back the younger version of himself back. Though, while he is not as agile nor as fast as he was, he has grown in-ring awareness and excelled at many other aspects of the sport. He has now matured as a fighter.

The matchup with Franklin will only tell us what we already know about Joshua, however, it may give a clue as to whether the old Joshua, the tank, can return to the center spotlight.

The aura of 'the ferocious finisher' has slowly been eroded in his previous defeats. However, when asked about his motivations to get back into boxing he said, “money, money, money”.

Now that Anthony Joshua has made his way back to the ring, many boxing fans around the world wonder if he will resume his match-up with Tyson Fury. The fight that never occurred still resonates amongst many fans... Will we see the Gypsy King face off against Anthony Joshua sometime soon? We can only hope!