Deontay Wilder Urges Anthony Joshua To Take Jermaine Franklin Seriously
BY
HANS THEMISTODE
Published Fri Mar 31, 2023, 09:24 AM EDT
A quick look through Anthony Joshua’s resume will reveal his propensity and willingness to take on the very best that the heavyweight division has to offer. But after suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua will return to the ring in what’s being viewed as a considerable step down in competition.
This Saturday night, with newly instilled trainer Derrick James standing firmly in his corner, Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) will attempt to violently end the night of Jermaine Franklin at the O2 Area in the United Kingdom. Franklin, much like Joshua, is looking to do some rebuilding of his own since losing a controversial decision to Dillian Whyte just a few months ago. At the moment, however, the 29-year-old is tabbed as a gargantuan underdog.
While most are picking the former Olympic gold medalist to jump back into the win column, Deontay Wilder isn’t too sure.
For the past few months, the normally outgoing and easy-to-spot Joshua has kept a relatively low profile. Although he’s done his best to keep his recent training regime under wraps, small snippets of his workouts have been released to the public.
Overall, despite kicking his work ethic into overdrive, Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) still has his doubts. But, for the 33-year-old’s sake, the Alabama native hopes that his focus is laser sharp. If not, that’ll be all she wrote.
“If Joshua ain’t on his sh!t, he’ll get beat,” said Wilder to ESNEWS. “We’ll see how it goes.”
Wilder, in the meanwhile, is in the beginning stages of a pre-camp before ramping things up for a return to the ring. Amongst a long list of opponents he could ultimately face, Wilder has welcomed the idea of taking on the likes of Andy Ruiz Jr., Oleksandr Usyk, and recent promotional free agent and former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou.