Derek Chisora’s trainer Don Charles believes Anthony Joshua has made a mistake in picking Jermaine Franklin for his next fight. Charles would rather AJ boxed either Michael Hunter, Tony Yoka or former foe Carlos Takam than the ‘savvy’ American.
Joshua returns to the ring on April 1 at London’s O2 Arena following consecutive losses to Oleksandr Uysk. AJ has a lot to lose with many, including promoter Eddie Hearn, suggesting that if he is unable to pick up a win on fight night then it will be curtains for his career.
Given all of the pressure facing Joshua, Charles would have preferred to see the Watford powerhouse in there with a ‘bigger and more static’ opponent than the fleet-footed Franklin and made his thoughts known during an interview with Seconds Out.
“Me personally, no. I don’t think it’s the right opponent,” he said. “I would have liked someone bigger and more static. The guy is quite tricky, he’s quite savvy the guy that Anthony is boxing. I wouldn’t have chosen him as Anthony’s next fight, no I wouldn’t.”
Charles then went on to reel off a few names that would have been better suited for the Brit’s comeback fight. “Well, there’s a few names out there. Someone like Takam who had a controversial stoppage [loss] back when they fought at the Millennium Stadium,” he added. “There’s also Tony Yoka, the Olympic gold medallist in Rio and there’s Michael Hunter.
“The worst people to fight are people that don’t have much to lose. But this chap hasn’t got anything to lose when you come in with that sort of attitude, you’re at ease. I don’t think they should have chosen that opponent but never the less we’re here they’ve chosen him. It seems that is who he is fighting, he’ll beat the guy, but I think it’s going to be a hard night’s work.”
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If Joshua is able to overcome Franklin then he already has two massive fights lined up for this year. According to Hearn, they will look to book the rematch with Dillian Whyte in June before a blockbuster showdown to close out the year with either Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury.
Hearn even claims that the Fury fight could be brought forward to the summer if his proposed undisputed fight with Usyk falls through. Fury and Usyk are currently thrashing out a deal for the four-belt shootout to be held at Wembley Stadium on April 29.