Anthony Joshua is taking his soon-approaching clash against Jermaine Franklin as an ultimatum in his career, that is, if the Briton is unsuccessful in the squared circle, he will make the decision to hang his gloves up.
The former two-time heavyweight world champion is on a two-fight losing streak- both against the reigning unified titleholder Oleksandr Usyk, and a comeback victory is of utmost need for AJ if he wants to return to title contention.
However, in case The O2 Arena in London this Sunday sees Franklin as the one walking out of the ring as the winner, then the boxing fandom will see it as Joshua’s final career appearance, as the 33-year-old spoke to Mail Online.
“I will. I will retire if I lose. I’m not here to battle people. If people want me to retire I will retire. I’m not going to fight if people don’t want me too. It’s not even about the money. It’s about the competitor in you. That’s what’s important,” said Joshua.
“I know when I am retired, I am gonna be chilling. I’m gonna be thinking f**k everyone. I am done. You lot put so much pressure on me so when I am done, the chains are going to be gone. I am going to be laughing and loving life,” he added.
Anthony Joshua weighs in heaviest in his career against Jermaine Franklin at 255.4 pounds
At 255.4 pounds, Anthony Joshua marked the highest poundage of his boxing career at the official weigh-in this Friday ahead of his fight on Saturday against Jermaine Franklin.
It’s the first time Joshua has scored above 250 pounds since October 2017, when he knocked out Carlos Takam in 10 rounds. At that weigh-in, AJ registered 254 pounds. In contrast, Franklin weighed in at 234.1 pounds, that is, 23 pounds less than him in his last fight when he lost by a majority decision against Dillian Whyte.
