Anthony Joshua GUARANTEES A KNOCKOUT IN A FIGHT WITH Tyson Fury / Deontay Wilder - Andy Ruiz FIGHT

Anthony Joshua GUARANTEES A KNOCKOUT IN A FIGHT WITH Tyson Fury / Deontay Wilder - Andy Ruiz FIGHT Representatives of former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) and American prospect Jermaine Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs) have agreed to hold a fight, BoxingScene reports. Boxers will share the ring on April 1 at the O2 Arena in London (UK). Joshua will fight for the first time after the second consecutive defeat, which prevented AJ from regaining the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO titles. It was planned that Anthony would hold the next fight at the end of last year, but the Briton rejected this idea, citing psychological problems. The 29-year-old Franklin, not without controversy, lost the last performance to Dillian White in the fall of 2022. The American started his professional career more than seven years ago and is currently signed with the Salita Promotions promotion company, which is headed by former boxer Dmitry Salita. Among Franklin's competitors for the fight with Joshua were Australian Demsy McKean and Swede Otto Valen. The star American heavyweight Deontay Wilder does not believe that he will ever fight with ex-world champion Anthony Joshua, because, in his opinion, the Briton does not want to enter the ring with him. "Joshua doesn't want to fight with me - everything is simple and clear. I do not know why people keep asking about this. Throughout my career, I have always been direct, honest and truthful. I don't beat around the bush. Either I like you or I don't like you. And there are no differences for me, because I know what I want. Everyone knows that Joshua was offered $50 million when he asked for it, but he didn't agree to fight. Even then, people should have realized that it was suspicious. Even in the future, Joshua won't want to fight. There is certain information that I know. And there is information that the public receives from others," Wilder said. Ex-world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder surprised with the choice of a fighter with whom he had the most difficult sparring. At one time, the American puncher sparred with such boxing stars as David Haye, however, according to Wilder, it was hardest for him in sparring with compatriot Alonzo Butler (34-3-2, 25 KOs). "I had a really good, solid battle with Alonzo Butler, the 'Big Zo'. He's the fastest heavyweight I've ever seen. And this is despite his size - he weighed more than 113 kilograms, but could move. If he had better managers and promoters, he could have become the heavyweight champion of the world. When I first got up and saw him, I was very impressed. I looked at him and thought: "I want to be the same." Alonzo was a tough guy. He was the first fighter whose blow to the body I felt. I learned a lot from him in those days," Wilder said. As you know, the world heavyweight champion according to the WBC, Briton Tyson Fury, said he was ready to fight with the former UFC heavyweight title holder, Frenchman Francis Ngannou, but he has a number of conditions. A well-known mixed martial arts analyst Chale Sonnen commented on this situation. "I see Tyson Fury making statements last weekend and clarifying his attitude to the fight against Francis Ngannou. Both guys said they were going to do something special. For unknown reasons, they are not going to box. Francis offered to hold a boxing match, but Tyson refused and put forward his own invented rules. Tyson has finally shown what he is. They're going to fight in a cage, I have no idea why. They also want to wear four-ounce gloves. They are going to follow some incomprehensible rules. Former World heavyweight champion American Deontay Wilder still believes that the fight against Briton Anthony Joshua is the biggest he can get. Therefore, Deontay is sure that sooner or later he and "AJ" will meet in the ring. "I'm still in business, Joshua is also still in business. As long as we are both in business and still fighting, there will always be such an opportunity. Every time I talk to people, they ask me: "When are you going to fight Joshua?" This is the biggest fight. So it was before and so it is now. This is one of the confrontations that I am constantly asked about. It's not about what if, but when. It just has to happen at the right time," Wilder said. Former world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker believes that he will be able to defeat the formidable American knockout Deontay Wilder if he ever gets the opportunity to share the ring with him. "I'm going to beat Wilder. It's going to be difficult. Listen, if he cuts you with his right hand, you will fall. But you just need to act competently with Deontay Wilder. You have to have good mobility, as demonstrated by Tyson Fury. Or you need to force a fight on him. Deontay Wilder is a dangerous opponent, but if I get the chance to fight him, I will beat him," Parker said in an interview with the Boxxer promotion company. A well-known insider and ESPN journalist Mike Coppinger repo