Anthony Joshua needs to knock out Jermaine Franklin then call out Tyson Fury – Carl Frampton column

Boxing analyst and former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton writes for BBC Sport about Briton Anthony Joshua’s fight against Jermaine Franklin at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday.

Former world champion Joshua makes his return after losing his rematch with Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in August.

Can Joshua go back to winning ways or will American Franklin cause a huge upset?

Anthony Joshua has to not only beat Jermaine Franklin at the O2 Arena on Saturday, he has to win in style.

A points win is not good enough. I want to see him get rid of Franklin early, stand in the ring and call out Tyson Fury.

Fury-Joshua is still huge. A massive fight not just for British boxing but also on a global stage.

A loss, and I think that’s the end for Joshua. Where does he go from there?

But I don’t think that will happen. This is a fight where Joshua can get the confidence back a bit. After consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, that’s what the big man desperately needs.

This is the perfect type of fight for Joshua to come back to – an opponent who is credible enough. I actually thought Franklin beat Dillian Whyte in his last fight, although he didn’t get the decision.

But in terms of a heavyweight boxer, he’s got 22 fights with 14 knockouts. It’s a nice ratio for a featherweight, but not necessarily for a heavyweight.

Linking up with Derrick James and basing his training camp in Texas is a good move for Joshua, and perhaps one he should have done before now.

Get away from the UK and from home comforts – have that camp mentality and not so many yes men around you.

Joshua is also in a gym full of good champions, with the Charlo brothers, Jermell and Jermall, and Errol Spence Jr. It’s probably the first time in AJ’s career he’s not been the top dog in the gym.

He’s got world champions there and it’ll be good for him. He can feed off that.

If you look at the style of the Charlos and Spence, they’re quite aggressive fighters. That’s the coaching style that Derrick James has and that’s what we need to see from AJ again.