Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin: Fight Prediction and Best Bets

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Prediction 1

Fight to Be Won In Rounds 1 - 6

11/8 (2.38)

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Prediction 2

Fight to Have 2 Knockdowns

9/4 (3.25)

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British heavyweight star Anthony Joshua makes his return to the ring this Saturday to take on American Jermaine Franklin.

Joshua, who was once predicted as the man who would finally able to unify the heavyweight division, has experienced three defeats in his last five bouts and heads into this contest looking to regain some much needed confidence and form. Ahead of this contest against Franklin, AJ has already stated that another defeat will probably see him walk away from the ring for good.

With the stakes as high as they could possibly be everything is set up for a cracking fight. With every angle covered, here are some of our best bets ahead of what could be a memorable clash.

Fight to Be Won Between Rounds 1-6 @ 11/8 (2.38)

Contents

1 Fight to Be Won Between Rounds 1-6 @ 11/8 (2.38)
2 Total Number of Knockdowns – 2 @ 9/4 (3.25)
3 Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin Preview
- 3.1 Anthony Joshua
- 3.2 Jermaine Franklin
4 Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin Head to Head
- 4.1 Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin Fight Details

Joshua is a huge favourite for the contest, so much so that there is little point in backing him outright for the win. Instead we have tried to find value in other ways and backing this fight to end before the seventh round looks a good way to play.

Much of the pre fight build-up has been dominated by Joshua’s decision to change trainers for the third time in as many fights. Now under the tutelage of Derrick James, James likes his fighters to be on the front foot and command the fight from the centre of the ring. Joshua has been at his best when able to dominate his opponents with his awesome natural power. Many believe that Joshua’s move to James has been an inspired decision and it has led to the theory that this fight could be over quickly.

Total Number of Knockdowns – 2 @ 9/4 (3.25)

Another potential value play could be to guess how many knockdowns this fight will see. With Joshua expected to be the aggressor, predicting exactly two knockdowns looks to be a reasonable bet. Despite the prospect of heavyweight fights ending in an instant, it isn’t uncommon to see a fighter get knocked down, get back up, only then for the fighter to go down again before the fight is stopped.

With most fights usually seeing at least a couple of knockdowns this looks like it could be one of the better betting options of the evening.

Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin Preview

With these bets in mind, here’s a look at how each fighter has made it to this bout:

Anthony Joshua

When you sit back and look at the journey of Anthony Joshua, his story could be readymade for Hollywood. A troubled teen, Joshua ended up having multiple scrapes with the law before discovering his true calling in the ring.

Late to the sport, Joshua started boxing as a 17 year old but quickly found himself rising through the British amateur ranks. He first shot to fame by winning the 2012 Olympics before fighting his first professional bout in July 2013.

Fighting carefully hand selected opponents, Joshua headed into his first Heavyweight Championship bout against Wladimir Klitschko with a 22-0 record. In what was arguably the greatest moment of his career, Joshua was able to knockdown his illustrious opponent and go onto win his first world title.

Joshua would go onto defend his belts three times before surprisingly losing to little known Andy Ruiz. Joshua would end up getting revenge on the Mexican but would then lose his next two fights to World Cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

With Joshua headed towards the twilight of his career, time is running out for him to unify the division. A mega fight against fellow Brit Tyson Fury remains on the cards, but victory against Franklin is absolutely essential if that fight is to finally happen.

Jermaine Franklin

Heading into the biggest bout of his career, Jermaine Franklin travels to the UK as the heavy underdog. With many bookmakers pricing Franklin at around 6/1 for victory, if Franklin were to win, he would not only announce himself to the rest of the boxing world, but also send his heralded opponent to an early retirement.

Franklin has a solid professional record of 21-1, with fourteen of his victories coming by way of knock out.

Whilst most of his victories have come against opponents nowhere near the class of Joshua, many believe that the American was desperately unlucky not to have come out on top in his last fight against Dillian Whyte. Franklin lost that fight narrowly on points with many believing he had done enough to secure victory.

Franklin has spoken before the fight that he believes he has the ability to win this bout, and if he can pull off the upset, his career will launch into a completely different stratosphere.