Franklin: I still see myself as a top guy
WBO #12 heavyweight contender Jermaine Franklin Jr. (22-2, 14 KOs) will appear in the 10-round DAZN main event against Devin Vargas (22-10, 9 KOs) on Thursday night at Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit. On Tuesday, Franklin showed off his skills at a media workout at the Kronk Gym.
“Fighting in my home state again feels great. I love the energy. It’s like an aura and it feels great,” said Franklin. “What I learned in those two fights in Europe is that everything isn’t fair and don’t look to the refs to clean up everything. Fight to the best of your ability and don’t pay attention until he stops you. I was already mentally tough, but those two fights over there brought out a new ferociousness in me. Not a lot of stuff can get to me anymore. If the ref doesn’t stop me, you better get out of the way.
“I still want my rematch with Joshua, but we’re chasing belts. Hopefully, I can go after one of these top contenders like Daniel Dubois or Phillip Hrgovic or Cassius Chaney or Michael Hunter.
“I only saw bits and pieces of Fury vs. Usyk, but I think my punch output would be a lot higher than those guys. Usyk can punch and move against the big heavyweights, he’s got real nice feet, but I think my punch output could keep up with him a lot better than most other heavyweights could.
“I know Vargas was a great boxer in his time, and he went to the Olympics. He has a punch-and-move type style, so I’ll beat him at his own game and cut the ring off – force him to engage. I don’t do predictions, but he’s going to end up on his ass.
“Fighting to the level of my opposition has been a real problem for me in the past. I really can’t explain why the better the opponent, the better I fight. We’ve been working on pushing the pace and pushing our intensity in the gym, so we don’t get stuck in that comfortable space anymore and fight to my limit every time.
“I still see myself as a top guy and I’m just trying to get back to the top fights. Mentally and physically I’m ready to take the call for the next big fight.”
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