Anthony Joshua is preparing for his return to the ring in April – the first fight in a long-term contract with broadcaster DAZN.
‘AJ’ has faced Oleksandr Usyk twice – once in 2021 and again last year – and made the wrong decision each time. It was those losses that knocked him out of the heavyweight title for the first time in years.
Determined to become a three-time world champion, the former Olympic athlete must stay busy and accumulate good victories. The much-anticipated first move – although not officially confirmed – is Jermaine Franklin of America on April 1 in London.
Franklin is best known on British shores for crossing Dillian Whyte in November 2022. Although this was the first loss on his record, many fans were so impressed with the performance, some even thought he did enough to win.
While many fans had assumed the event would end with DAZN’s pay-per-view feature, Hearn told Boxing Social that might not be the case.
“Maybe pay-per-view, maybe not. See this space.
While fans can still feel that it will hit the box office, it’s unlikely that Hearn will make the choice of a standard subscription event if it’s at least not on the table yet.
DAZN started their UK boxing – in addition to the cross-over Misfits tags – in February when Leigh Wood placed his WBA Featherweight title ahead of Mexican cheater, Mauricio Lara.
Joshua’s fights are sure to cost fans an extra fee – especially if he manages to negotiate with the likes of Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.
However, for this first time back, avoiding that will help a bit to keep fans coming back to DAZN – a relationship that has soured with the introduction of the PPV model after the marketing. initially indicated that would not be the case.
