Joshua vs Franklin official for April 1, more fights set for DAZN in March and April
Anthony Joshua will face Jermaine Franklin on April 1 in London.
It’s official: Anthony Joshua will face Jermaine Franklin in a DAZN heavyweight main event on Saturday, April 1 from London, and there are several more main events now official for the spring on DAZN.
“I am looking forward to stepping back into the ring.” said Joshua. “Mentally and physically i feel ready. I want to put on a show and impress my coach as he has high standards. Franklin has a good style and great attitude, which he has shown in recent fights.”
“I’m ready to show the world why it’s time for me to take my place at the top of the heavyweight division,” said Franklin. “Joshua had his time. It’s my time to shock the world! This fight isn’t going to the judge’s card. I will have win number 22. That ain’t no April Fool’s joke.”
Along with Joshua vs Franklin, here’s what else is coming from Matchroom and DAZN:
- Leigh Wood vs Mauricio Lara on Feb. 18, which everyone already knew.
- Callum Smith vs Pawel Stepien on Mar. 11 from Liverpool, plus Liam Paro vs Robbie Davies Jr, Diego Pacheco’s UK debut against Jack Cullen, and more.
- Cyrus Pattinson vs Chris Jenkins on Mar. 18. Pat McCormack and Solomon Dacres are also on the card. This looks like Matchroom getting back to holding some true “second-tier” events, which is important in building fighters up.
- Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez vs Cristian Gonzalez in San Antonio on Apr. 8 for the vacant WBO flyweight title. This was expected and is now official.
- Shavkat Rakhimov vs Joe Cordina for Rakhimov’s IBF belt at 130 lbs on Apr. 22, which Cordina held but had to vacate due to injury. They were meant to fight for it, now it’s set for Cardiff, giving Cordina home advantage.
- Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 2 in Dublin on May 20, which was announced over the weekend.