Heavyweight prospect Franklin sparring with Joshua
In preparation for the huge December rematch in Saudi Arabia, Anthony Joshua has been sparring with heavyweight prospect Jermaine Franklin to get ready with his matchup with Andy Ruiz.
Speaking with Sky Sports, Franklin’s promoter Dmitriy Salita explained how Franklin was welcomed into the camp of Joshua. Franklin himself is coming off a unanimous decision victory of Pavel Sour earlier in the month in Flint to increase his record to 20-0.
?IDEAL SPARRING FOR AJ?? @AnthonyfJoshua welcomed to spar with Rising ?? contender @JermaineFrankl6 for rematch with @Andy_destroyer1
STORY HERE: https://t.co/aV3buXueTS pic.twitter.com/z7MjevE8yC
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) October 16, 2019
“Jermaine Franklin is the best American heavyweight contender, and although he is only 25-years-old, he has one of the most impressive opponent resumes of the top prospects,” Salita told Sky Sports.
“He has some similarities to Ruiz with a long and successful amateur career which has influence on his style as they are both athletic with fast hands. Jermaine was offered to train with Joshua for the Povetkin fight, but scheduling did not work out for him. We were not offered the opportunity for this one, but it would be a great experience to train with Anthony Joshua, one of the best and most dominant heavyweights in the division.”
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, beforehand, stated his boxer’s team has been able to secure top sparring for the rematch.
“Sparring is something we’ve been working at. First time around we only had four weeks, and three weeks of sparring. We found guys but probably not the guys we really wanted,” Hearn said to Sky Sports.
“Now the sparring is top class. He is focused and looking great. Eight weeks to go.”
We’ll see if the extra time in preparation will help out Joshua in the rematch taking place on December 7th. It’s worth noting how much was made of the sparring last go around for Joshua as Hearn mentioned the lack of time, but as the reports that he was knocked out in sparring as well leading up to the June match.
Marquis Johns is a unknown humorist and avid boxing fan. His love for the sweet science goes back to when matches were 15 rounds and has been covering fights since closed-circuit pay-per-views. Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth is not only a quote by Mike Tyson, it's also a pretty good reminder to keep your guard up.
