Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, confirmed that the proposed bout between the British‑Nigerian heavyweight and Jermaine Franklin remains unsigned, according to Sunday reports. Joshua, who suffered consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, is slated to return to the ring on April 1 at London’s O2 Arena. Sky Sports notes that both fighters have agreed on terms, but Hearn insists that neither boxer has officially signed the contract despite ongoing negotiations. “The contract is not signed for that fight, but he’s the guy that I think it will be. He has been for a while,” Hearn told iD Boxing. “We’ll look to tie that up, April 1 is the date, you’ll get an AJ press conference next week.”
The 33‑year‑old Joshua has linked up with new trainer Derrick James in Texas after his back‑to‑back losses to Usyk. He watched from ringside in November as Dillian Whyte edged past Franklin in a disputed decision win, setting up a potential summer stadium rematch between the two amateur rivals‑turned‑professionals. Whyte, who lost to Joshua in 2015, expressed frustration to SunSport about not receiving a fight with Joshua. Hearn responded, “I feel that Franklin gave Dillian Whyte a tremendous fight; it was very competitive and close, so I don’t see why it would be a bad fight for Anthony Joshua. Anthony Joshua has no problem fighting Dillian Whyte. I think it’s a stadium fight; we can do that next. AJ’s teamed up with a new trainer after losing twice to the pound‑for‑pound No 1. It’s a very good, competitive fight, and the comparisons will be: let’s see how Anthony Joshua does against Jermaine Franklin versus how Dillian Whyte did against Jermaine Franklin, and then we’ll see.”
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