Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin fight results, highlights: 'AJ' bounces back with decision victory

Joshua went the distance on Saturday night in a fight many expected him to dominate

The latest reinvention in the rollercoaster career of Anthony Joshua proved to be a successful one on Saturday as the two-time former unified heavyweight champion snapped a two-fight losing skid on home soil.

In his third fight with as many trainers, Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) relied on a heavy jab to outpoint a limited yet brave Jermaine Franklin to score a unanimous decision (118-111, 117-111 twice) at the O2 Arena in London. Although Joshua was the clear winner -- CBS Sports also scored it 117-111 -- the 2012 Olympic gold medalist was far too conservative and looked unsure at times as he failed to drop or finish Franklin (24-2, 14 KOs).

Seven months removed from a second straight defeat to newly unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, the 33-year-old Joshua sacked trainer Robert Garcia after one fight and traveled to Texas to train under 2022 coach of the year Derrick James. Joshua also doubled down throughout the build by routinely telling media members he would retire if he lost.

The result was a much calmer Joshua, who used his jab like a weapon in the first half before devolving into a clinch-heavy, safety approach that drew criticism from James in the corner. Although Joshua entered at a career high of 255 pounds, his gas tank never suffered and he put the added muscle to good use by tiring out Franklin, a 29-year-old native of Saginaw, Michigan, by leaning on him.

"Short of a knockout, It was important to get the win," Joshua said. "Jermaine has a good duck and dive style. There were opportunities there but I respect him. He done well. I respect him and his team for preparing. I should have knocked him out but what can I say now? It's done and on to the next.

"When people come to fight me, they muster up a different kind of energy. I feel like he had a lot of pride. He was here to prove himself and he didn't come to roll over. I wish I could've knocked him out, 100 percent. In the next 15 years, no one will remember this fight."

Joshua, who had his nose bloodied in the second round, was never in trouble despite being briefly wobbled twice by hard right counters. But despite outlanding Franklin by a margin of 117 to 58, according to CompuBox, Joshua never fully committed to finishing him.

"For me, it was really all about him getting out here and getting the win," James said. "I didn't care how he won it, I just wanted the win. After this, we will come back and build and build and build. You could see how good he fought on the inside and how great his jab was.

"I wanted him to pick up the pace a bit in the last couple of rounds but it comes with time."

Despite the inconsistency of Joshua's win in his first fight with James, the British star didn't hesitate to aggressively chase his future by calling out unbeaten Tyson Fury, who recently saw talks for an undisputed title fight against Usyk fall apart as both sides blamed each other.

"I try to provide for the fans. Who do the fans want? They said Fury? The ball is in his court," Joshua said. "I would be 100 percent honored to compete for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world.

"We have had dialogue before so let's hope we can get this done sooner than later. We are not getting any younger."

CBS Sports was with you throughout the entire way on Saturday with the live results and highlights below. 

Fight card, results

• Anthony Joshua def. Jermaine Franklin via unanimous decision (118-11, 117-111, 117-111)
• Fabio Wardley def. Michael Coffie via fourth-round TKO
  

Joshua vs. Franklin scorecard, live coverage

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
Joshua	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	120
Franklin	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	108

[Apr 1, 2023 at 6:25 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Official result: Anthony Joshua def. Jermaine Franklin via unanimous decision (118-111, 117-111, 117-111)

[Apr 1, 2023 at 6:22 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin -- Round 12: While Franklin may have one a round or two despite our scoring, it's clear he needs a knockout to get the win. There were several early clinches in the round and Franklin tried to throw Joshua in response. Joshua landed several right hands and uppercuts in an exchange between clinches. Franklin tried to flurry but it was Joshua landing before one final clinch. Now, after the final bell, a fight breaks out between Joshua and Franklin briefly, with their corners ready to jump in the mix before things were quickly cooled off. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Joshua (120-108)

[Apr 1, 2023 at 6:18 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin -- Round 11: Joshua landed a huge uppercut and right hand. His big shots are landing with a bit more regularity but he did eat a right hand from Franklin moments later. After some big moments early in the round, things slowed down through the rest of the round. Joshua hit Franklin on the break and the referee just shrugged at the foul. Odd stuff. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Joshua (110-99)

[Apr 1, 2023 at 6:14 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin -- Round 10: Josua opened up with a good flurry that landed but things quickly went back to the same clinching that had dominated the two previous rounds. Joshua landed a good combination, closing with a lead uppercut. Franklin again landed a good right hand but ate a few uppercuts and then some short right hands in the clinch. Another right straight landed for Joshua and some jabs. Joshua just missed with a right uppercut as he really let the big shots go more this round, which also allowed Franklin to land some of his own. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Joshua (100-90)

[Apr 1, 2023 at 6:10 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin -- Round 9: Joshua landed some good punches as the two men clinched up. Franklin got a bit reckless throwing his head around in the clinch, drawing another warning from the referee. The clinch parade continued throughout the round and nothing Franklin has done in the fight has been indicative of a gameplan for a win. Both men got a talking to for the clinching as the referee tried to slow things down. Franklin did land a good right hand that forced Joshua to take a backward step. Joshua landed a good combination of three punches before the end of the round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Joshua (90-81)

[Apr 1, 2023 at 6:06 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin -- Round 8: Joshua landed a good right hand and tried to follow up with a good flurry after, the first time he has done so in the fight. After another clinch, Franklin shoved Joshua and got a warning from the referee. Joshua continued to clinch whenever Franklin got inside, clearly frustrating Franklin. The clinching got borderline excessive in the round and Franklin continued to throw one punch and fall forward into Joshua's body. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Joshua (80-72)

[Apr 1, 2023 at 6:02 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin -- Round 7: Franklin connected with a jab but ate a left to the body in return.Joshua threw a nasty left hook that just missed before Franklin charged in and ended up in another clinch. It was just more of the same through the round, Joshua landing jabs and occasionally a single right hand. The men exchanged words after the bell. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Joshua (70-63)

[Apr 1, 2023 at 5:58 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin -- Round 6: More of the same early in the round, Joshua wanting to jab and then clinch when Franklin got inside. Joshua just missed with a big lead uppercut that may have ended the fight. Joshua landed a good right hand again, but again didn't follow up with anything meaningful, backing off right back into his jabbing range. Franklin again charged forward with a flurry late in the round but he's simply not doing enough to win rounds. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Joshua (60-54)

[Apr 1, 2023 at 5:54 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin -- Round 5: Joshua landed a good right early and began to tag Franklin with more jabs that continued to cause some swelling around Franklin's right eye. Franklin was positively cracked by a Joshua right hand but Franklin again fired right back with his own punches and forced Joshua to clinch again. Joshua wants no part of the fight to happen at close range. Franklin again flurries after a Joshua right hand. Joshua is clearly winning rounds it's just not impressive. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Joshua (50-45)

[Apr 1, 2023 at 5:50 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin -- Round 4: Franklin pushed the pace with some jabs of his own, keeping Joshua from setting or throwing his own punches. Franklin began taunting Joshua after an exchange but Joshua landed more stiff jabs rather than playing into the taunts. Franklin did connect with a good right hand on the end of a combination before Joshua clinched up again. Joshua again landed a good right hand and a big left that caused Franklin to storm forward with a flurry at the bell. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Joshua (40-36)

[Apr 1, 2023 at 5:45 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin -- Round 3: Even as he's won the first two rounds, Joshua just does not look right. He is almost fighting scared, reacting any moment Franklin lands or even comes close to landing a shot. Joshua landed a sneaky right hand as Franklin tried to walk forward with a combination. Another good right landed moments later before going right back to the jab. Franklin landed a few good jabs of his own and a good body shot but Joshua landed a hard right at the bell. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 (30-27)

[Apr 1, 2023 at 5:42 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin -- Round 2: Joshua's nose was bleeding in the corner as he told his corner he was coming to take the fight "one round at a time." Joshua landed a good right hand early in the round before the referee had to intervene after a bit of rough behavior from both men in the clinch. Joshua continued to land good jabs and then countered a right hand from Franklin with a much better right hand of his own. Franklin landed a good right hand, again drawing blood from Joshua's nose as Joshua clinched immediately to get back to distance. Joshua landed a solid left to the body late in the round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Joshua (20-18)

[Apr 1, 2023 at 5:38 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin -- Round 1: Joshua opened the fight with some stiff jabs, as expected. Since losing to Andy Ruiz Jr. in their first meeting, Joshua has relied much more on that jab. A left hook landed hard for Joshua. Franklin tried to roughhouse his way into the inside but could find no real purchase there, quickly being put back on the end of Joshua's much longer punches. Franklin started to look to work the body but did land a jab upstairs. Not the aggressive approach many were hoping to see early from Joshua. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Joshua