Via Charles Brun: Anthony Joshua was unimpressed with Dillian Whyte’s poor performance last Saturday night against little-known Jermaine Franklin at London’s O2 Arena.
Joshua was on hand to scout Whyte (29-3, 19 KOs) as a potential next opponent for his bout in early 2023, and he didn’t like what he saw from the aging veteran. ravaged by war, who seems to be given a gift decision by the judge.
AJ says that Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs) is the kind of opponent you have to take down. Whyte’s inability to stop Franklin and being given a decision by a 12-round majority is highly questionable that makes him unexpected.
If Joshua comes back and faces Whyte in a rematch next year, he will look weak in the eyes of the fans, as it would be an outrageous pick.
In the eyes of the boxing world, Whyte has unfinished business with Franklin, 29, and it would be a bad idea if Joshua included himself in that equation by fighting the poisoned veteran right now.
Why similar? a pure journeyman against Franklin, no better than the likes of Derek Chisora and worse than British domestic boxers like Nathan Gorman and Fabio Wardley.
“If I were a trainer, I would expect my boxer to take down someone like Jermaine Franklin,” said Anthony Joshua. iFL TV when asked about his assessment of Dillian Whyte’s win over Jermaine Franklin.
“Anything is possible.” Joshua said when asked if Whyte is his next opponent. Bring someone. There were a lot of people lined up to fight me, so it wouldn’t be difficult to find an opponent. He’s just another body,” Joshua said when asked why he was fighting Whyte again.
“With the experience Dillian had, with the strength he had, I wasn’t there to play the game. I would go in there to try to take down someone of that caliber.
“Be honest. Jermaine Franklin wasn’t there to trouble Dillian,” Joshua said, making it clear that Franklin was a cherry pick for Whyte, meaning an easy mark for an introductory fight for the good-looking 34-year-old ‘Body Robber’.
“It was time to put on a spectacular performance. ‘Bang, bang, bang, I’m back on the scene; I was back on top. I’m not kidding. My passion is still there; My strength is still there. My skills are still there.’
“It was the kind of fight that Dillian wanted that night, but it was difficult. Jermaine Franklin made it harder than it was,” Joshua said.
Eddie Hearn will not be pleased if Joshua chooses not to fight Whyte next, as he is working hard, day and night talking about wanting to make the next fight between AJ and Dillian.
But after Whyte went up against Franklin, Joshua would make a big mistake fighting him.
If Hearn wants to fight Whyte with someone, he should do the right thing and set up a rematch with Franklin or hook up the crippled Dillian with Fabio Wardley as a springboard, a punching bag.
