Anthony Joshua made a winning return to the ring with a unanimous decision win over Jermaine Franklin at the 02 Arena in London on Saturday, Sportivationng.com reports.
Joshua recovered from a back to back defeat to set his career back on track.
He was declared the winner of the bout in the 11th round when the judges announced 118-111, 117-111, and 117-111 in his favour.
It was Joshua’s first fight without at least one title on the line in seven years.
According to Sky Sports, Joshua didn’t rush himself to begin with. He kept his form in the opening two rounds, content to box behind rapid jabs, beating Franklin to the target.
He stepped back smartly as well from Franklin’s darting shots in the first round.
Joshua pinged a cross flush into Franklin in the seventh round and the tough American had to nod to acknowledge the impact.
Joshua did hurt Franklin in the 11th round with a fine right uppercut on the inside, but rather than capitalise he again found himself caught on the end of a clean right cross.
Franklin snuck his right in again before the close of the session.
“I would have liked a knockout, but it’s important to get the win,” Joshua told DAZN in the ring after the fight.
“I know who the fans want. Who do the fans want?” Joshua asked in his ring interview, to which the crowded responded was a near-unanimous shout of “Fury!”
Joshua added: “The ball is in his court. I would be 100% be honored to fight for the WBC world heavyweight championship of the world. I stand here and I say it proudly.
“So wherever you are, if you’re listening, you know my management, you know my promoter. We’ve had dialect before, so let’s continue this and hopefully we can get this on sooner and later.”
