LONDON — Former heavyweight unified champion Anthony Joshua claimed his first win in over two years with a unanimous decision victory over American Jermaine Franklin at the O2 Arena on Saturday.
The judges scored the bout 118-111, 117-111 and 117-111.
Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) had suffered defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in his two previous fights and had not won since he knocked out Kubrat Pulev in December 2020. Saturday’s bout was billed as the start of a “new dawn” for the former heavyweight champion. It was Joshua’s first non-world title fight since he defeated Charles Martin in 2016, ending a run of 13 consecutive world title fights.
The British heavyweight entered the fight as a heavy favorite at -1100, according to Caesars Sportsbook, but Franklin (21-2, 14 KOs) was no pushover and kept Joshua uncomfortable for much of the bout.