Franklin unanimously defeats Booker

In the Showtime co-main event bout on the Shields-Hammer card, Jermaine Franklin (18-0, 13 KOs), a top American heavyweight prospect, remained unbeaten as he won cruised in a 10-round unanimous decision over former No. 1-ranked contender Rydell Booker (25-2, 12 KOs). The judges for this fight had it 99-91 and 98-92 twice.

Booker, however, had his moments in this matchup early on when he landed several clean power shots but the youthful Franklin in the second half of the fight was just far more active as Booker tired got fatigued and Franklin targeted the body. Franklin averaged 54 punches per round to Booker’s 35 and led 146-94 in overall punches landed in the contest.

“I think I had a decent performance,” said Franklin post-match. “There’s some stuff I could work on. I over-crowded myself a little bit and I was a little over-anxious. He had a lot more experience than me and used it to his advantage. He could see what I was doing.

“I learned to stay more patient because I had him hurt a few times, but once I got over-anxious, my whole game plan went out the window. I started messing up and making crazy mistakes I shouldn’t have. Now it’s back to the drawing board to work on my mistakes and come out bigger and badder next time.”

Wild exchanges from #FranklinBooker in Round 5. pic.twitter.com/ypwnJqzHoW

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) April 14, 2019

“I felt he out-hustled me, but it was a lot closer than how the judges scored it,” said Booker after the fight. “He was missing me a lot more than it looked. I slipped a lot of shots and hit him clean.

“I knew he would bring the pressure, but he needs a lot of work. He stays too centered with his head. He’s alright. What he has on his side is youth. I’d rate my performance about a seven. I had a training camp injury I was dealing with. I’m going to stay active and come back stronger than ever.”

While this wasn’t the greatest showing of either fighter, I would like to echo the statement Showtime analyst Steve Farhood said when he mentioned about Rydell Booker on the broadcast.

“I understand Jermaine Franklin is the future, but you have to wonder what Booker would’ve been.”

“I understand @JermaineFrankl6 is the future but you have to wonder what Booker would have been.” – @SteveFarhood pic.twitter.com/Ec3b7GqGzt

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) April 14, 2019