It seems Anthony Joshua may be preparing to fight soon. The former heavyweight champion is in final talks to seal a deal that would see him go against American Jermaine Franklin in his first match since losing to Oleksandr Usyk for the second time. 

Since his defeat last year, there have been several speculations over who Joshua’s next opponent could be or when his next fight could take place. It was initially thought that a fight between him and Tyson Fury would happen last December, but the deal did not fall through. Now, according to Franklin’s camp, talks are headed in the right direction, and an agreement could be reached very soon. 

The news was revealed by Franklin’s promoter Dmitry Salita on Thursday. According to Salita, the proposed fight could take place on April 1. In his words: “Jermaine is a world-class heavyweight from Michigan in America, who is on his way to bringing a big win back home. We hope to get the deal over the finish line to help Jermaine bring his lifetime dream to fruition.”

This is not the first time we would hear people express interest in fighting Joshua. Some weeks ago, Australian Demsey McKean boasted that he could be the one to retire Joshua, although it was never clear if his camp was in talks for a potential fight with the British boxer. 

Following back-to-back losses for the first time in his career, Joshua is being evidently careful about the outcome of his next fight. Although he is no longer a title holder, another loss at this point would not help his career. He is still a very big name, and any fight he is involved in would make money, but a few more losses could see that status diminish quickly, and he knows it. 

While a title challenge does not seem possible anytime soon, Joshua is not even considering talks of a retirement yet and still has several fights left before he exits the ring for good. Maybe a fixture with Tyson Fury would happen in the future. We can only wait and see.

Leon Osamor