Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is certain that Joshua can win the heavyweight title for a third time in his career.

Anthony Joshua improved for the rematch against Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine in August 2022, but he once again lost by a split decision. Joshua was forced to lose all of his titles in his first match against Usyk.

The British heavyweight boxer, whose parents are from Nigeria, is reported to have begun a new training camp in the US as he gets ready for his rematch against American Jermaine Franklin on April 1.

In a match that many onlookers thought he should have won, Franklin put on a good performance against Dillian Whyte but ultimately came up short last year.

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Hearn claimed in an interview with DAZN that Joshua will return to form and win the heavyweight championship again after a trip to the O2 Arena.

Hearn said: “The main man, Anthony Joshua returning to the lion’s den. It used to be the stomping ground for Anthony Joshua, the debut, Kevin Johnson, Gary Cornish, his first title, the British heavyweight fight against Dillian Whyte.

“For a long time that was home, that was the lion’s den. I think that’s going to be emotional. It’s a big fight for him against Franklin. Franklin’s coming off a great fight with Dillian Whyte, a really close fight between those two. He’s full of confidence.

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Sportsmail can exclusively report that Anthony Joshua has consented to face American heavyweight Jermaine Franklin on April 1 at the O2 Arena.

Since losing to Oleksandr Usyk twice in a row in September 2021 and surrendering his WBA, WBO, and IBF titles in August 2022, Joshua has not entered the ring.

Sportsmail can confirm that Franklin, who trained with Tyson Fury prior to his fight with Dillian Whyte in November 2022, will be Joshua’s opponent.

Franklin and Joshua have reached an agreement over the fight’s finances, and they will sign the official paperwork later this afternoon.

On April 1, the two heavyweight boxers will square off at the O2 Arena in the United Kingdom.

Franklin will be aiming to avenge his loss to Whyte in November 2022, while Joshua will be looking to restore his dominance in the heavyweight division.

Joshua looked set to face Fury in December but negotiations between the two British boxers collapsed in October after the Gypsy King grew frustrated with how long AJ’s team were taking to sign the contract.

AJ was disappointed to see the deal fall through as they had made good progress – having agreed on the financial terms of the fight, splitting the purse 60/40 in the favour of the WBC champion.

Along with choosing Cardiff’s Principality Stadium as the venue, the two also agreed on the TV rights, which were rumoured to be a sticking point. It wasn’t meant to be, though.

After winning the IBF Intercontinental heavyweight title in October, the unbeaten Australian heavyweight Demsey McKean begged for about, which put AJ in the spotlight.

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However, Sportsmail can confirm that Joshua has agreed to take on Franklin instead. He will face the American heavyweight at the O2 Arena on April 1.

Franklin went toe-to-toe with Dillian Whyte in November 2022. However, it was the British boxer that emerged victorious with a majority decision after their 12-round contest at Wembley Arena.

Franklin felt as though he had been ‘robbed’ – with Michael Alexander scoring their bout level at 115-115 while Juergen Landos and Grzegorz Molenda scored the fight 116-112 in favour of Whyte.

Speaking after the fight, Franklin said: ‘I felt like I got robbed. I felt like I did enough to get the decision. I felt like I won the earlier rounds. I just felt like I got robbed on the decision.’

The American was disappointed to have lost the fight considering he entered the ring with a professional record of 21 wins, 0 loses and 0 draws, having knocked out 14 of his 21 opponents.

However, Eddie Hearn – who was ringside along with Joshua – defended the judges’ decision, but admitted that he understands why others scored the bout in favour of Franklin.

Speaking after the fight, Hearn said: ‘I thought Dillian won the championship rounds to win the fight by a round, maybe two rounds. I can see a draw, and when it is 115-113 I can see it the other way as well. So I don’t blame people for thinking Franklin might’ve nicked the fight because it was a very close fight.’

But despite acknowledging that the bout could have gone either way, Hearn was adamant that Whyte’s victory did not constitute a robbery.

‘It’s not a robbery at all. It was a very close fight. I feel it was 115-113 to Whyte. I can see a draw. Can I see 115-113 to Franklin? Not really, but maybe… Anyone who says that’s a robbery is thick as s*** in all honesty.’

Franklin is eager to prove himself against Joshua and promoter Dmitriy Salita is confident he can pull off an upset.

‘Joshua, coming off two losses, changing trainers, is vulnerable,’ Salita previously said. ‘Let’s be honest. Jermaine realises it. He feels like he has his own future and path. He’s ready to go out there and score the upset. Some feel like it could be an upset, and some don’t.

‘But Jermaine’s going out there looking to score the win. After, he wants the rematch with Dillian Whyte, and then he wants to fight the winner of [Tyson] Fury vs. Usyk.’

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After the Gypsy King gave him a highly contentious deadline, British-Nigerian professional boxer Anthony Joshua insists he has every intention of signing his contract to face Tyson Fury as soon as possible.

Fury stated that he was ready to back out of a long-awaited fight against AJ if the contract was not signed by the end of play on Monday while in Manchester to watch Joe Joyce defeat Joseph Parker by knockout.

He said:

‘I was optimistic about three weeks ago but it should not be taking this long to sign a contract,’ said the 34-year-old.

‘We will know by Monday anyway because if it is not done by Monday I’m moving on. I’m not waiting around for some guy who has lost three of his last five fights.

‘I don’t mind chucking him a bone but I don’t want them to start dictating s**t to me. He is an invited guest at my party. My rules. So if you want to play the game, come to the banquet and take your seat.’

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However, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn criticized Fury’s remarks and cited a nine-day delay in receiving the contract, which was partially caused by the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Even Frank Warren downplayed his fighter’s comments.

There have been suggestions that the WBC heavyweight champion is already lining up Manuel Charr to fight instead and Joshua insists the fight will not fall through on his end, saying he is ready to put pen to paper on terms as soon as his lawyers have finished looking at the contract.

On a Sunday afternoon Instagram Live, when asked if he would agree to the terms of the fight with Fury, Joshua replied,

‘I’ve been signing contracts for years. It’s not in my hands, it’s with the legal team. That’s why you hire lawyers. If you know the history of boxing make sure you get the legal terms right, that’s why you get good management and good lawyers to make sure you get your business right.’

He added: ‘Of course, I’m going to sign the contract, it’s just with some lawyers at the minute.’

Hearn – who has a meeting scheduled on Monday with Warren and various broadcasters – took a dim view of Fury’s ultimatum and deadline and suggested the only person who will get in the way of the fight is the Gypsy King himself.

‘If he doesn’t [want to fight Joshua], and I guess he doesn’t, then he’ll do what he’ll do and the fans might even fall for it. But what I am seeing, the fans aren’t falling for it,’ said Hearn.

‘We have a meeting on Monday, with DAZN, with BT, with everybody but it’s going to take time. If he wants to put a time frame of Monday on it then it’s clear to the whole public he doesn’t want the fight. It’s not getting signed on Monday so if he is walking away on Monday the fight is off.’

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