Anthony Joshua makes his return to the ring this weekend against American Jermaine Franklin as he bids to work his way back into world title contention.

Joshua is fighting for the first time since a pair of defeats to Oleksandr Usyk and this will be his first outing without a world title on the line since 2016.

Unsurprisingly, this bout has been billed as ‘New Dawn’ and a win may well set AJ on a collision course with the likes of Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois, Dillian Whyte or perhaps, finally, Tyson Fury. However, Franklin shouldn’t necessarily be underestimated after a strong showing in defeat to Joshua’s old foe Whyte in his last assignment.

I’ve covered the main event and provided details on the undercard and how to watch ahead of Joshua’s comeback bid. I’ve also put together a 30/1 accumulator tip covering the main event and the undercard, which you can back below

Where to watch Joshua vs Franklin

The fight takes place at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday, April 1, and the headline event is expected to get underway at around 10pm.

Sport streaming service DAZN will broadcast the event and it isn’t a PPV event, although fans will have to sign up to the service to view Joshua vs Franklin. A one month subscription to DAZN costs £9.99 and customers are under no obligation to sign up for more than one month at a time.

Who is on the Joshua vs Franklin undercard?

There is a quality undercard for this event despite losing one of the bigger contests, as Felix Cash’s European championship bout with Matteo Signani has been called off.

Fabio Wardley’s heavyweight meeting with Michael Coffie is a particular highlight, while Campbell Hatton – the son of Manchester legend Ricky – is on the bill as he takes on Louis Fielding.

• Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin
• Fabio Wardley vs Michael Polite Coffie
• Galal Yafai vs Moises Calleros
• Campbell Hatton vs Louis Fielding
• Austin Williams vs River Wilson-Bent
• John Hedges vs Daniel Bocianski
• Jordan Flynn vs Kane Barker
• Juergen Uldedaj vs Benoit Huber
• Ziyad Almaayouf vs Georgi Velichkov
• Peter Kadiru vs Alen Lauriolle

Joshua vs Franklin prediction and fight preview

Joshua looks focused and hungry ahead of his return to the ring and it would be a surprise to see him fall short against Franklin.

AJ may have lost twice to Usyk, but the Ukrainian is on a different level and the Londoner definitely improved in their second meeting.

Joshua should win but looks too short at just 1/12 to win or 3/10 to win by KO/TKO or Disqualification.

The round markets could be the way to go for value in this match-up and over 7.5 rounds at 10/11 looks a good starting point to me.

Joshua has become a more measured and controlled fighter in his later years and I doubt he will abandon that approach completely, even if Franklin is a lesser name than he is used to fighting. In terms of the American, the only big name on his record is Whyte and he performed well in that clash, going the full distance before losing on a majority decision.

Before losing a close clash with Whyte, Franklin had managed 21 wins in as many attempts so he is no walkover opponent for Joshua, even if the 29-year-old is lacking in experience at the elite level and there are plenty of reasons to believe he can make it through to the later rounds on Saturday.

Saturday’s 30/1 Boxing Accumulator Tip

Under 4.5 rounds

Fabio Wardley vs Michael Polite Coffie

Wardley picked up the British heavyweight title with a three-round demolition of Nathan Gorman in his last outing and now takes on Michael Polite Coffie for the vacant WBA Continental belt.

The 28-year-old from Ipswich has made light work of all of his opponents so far with 14 of his 15 wins coming comfortably inside the distance, and the only time he was taken the full distance was in his four-round debut. Wardley has only been taken beyond the third round three times, including that debut, and he is up against an opponent in Polite Coffie who already has three losses in a 16-fight career, so he should be able to end this contest early as well.

Galal Yafai to win by decision or technical decision

Vs Moises Calleros

Flyweight Galal Yafai takes on Mexican Moises Calleros over 10 rounds as he bids to make it four wins in as many attempts in these early stages of his career.

Yafai won his first two outings inside the first five rounds but was taken the distance by Gohan Rodriguez Garcia in his last outing, and he may need the judges to claim a win over the experienced Calleros.

Calleros has only been stopped four times in a 47-fight career and is clearly a step up for rising star Yafai. The Briton has plenty of quality and should be able to maintain his100% record, but a stoppage win looks unlikely.

Campbell Hatton to win by decision or technical decision

Vs Louis Fielding

Campbell Hatton has won all 10 of his professional fights so far but only three of those have come via stoppages. The lightweight has a very winnable assignment against Louis Fielding on Saturday, but as this is only over eight rounds he may need the judges to claim a victory.

Fielding has lost seven of his 17 fights and four of those defeats have come inside the distance. However, he has been involved in British title fights and has a bit more experience than Hatton, so he should be able to make a real contest of this bout and can at least hear the final bell.

Over 7.5 rounds

Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin

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