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 |