Anthony Joshua, two-time heavyweight champion of the world, returned to winning ways, but in unconvincing fashion that was enough to win a unanimous decision over Jermaine Franklin on Saturday.
The Briton had lost three of his previous five bouts, including two in a row to Oleksandr Usyk. However, he achieved victory for the first time since 2020 thanks to the scores of the judges, who saw him win in London by 118-111, 117-111 and 117-111.
Joshua regularly landed his left jab and stunned Franklin on several occasions with his powerful right hand. However, the American held his ground at the O2 Arena.
In a bizarre ending, it looked as if the twelfth round had concluded eight seconds early. Joshua headbutted Franklin, which drew the ire of Lorenzo Adams, Franklin’s strength and conditioning coach.
Adams pushed the British boxer. Calm was restored, the referee raised Joshua’s hand to give him his 25th professional victory and keep alive hopes of a “Battle of Britain” against Tyson Fury, the World Boxing Council champion.