Yeah I was surprised it hadn't sold out yet either, but then his stock has definitely gone down with the casuals. I think Fury has lost quite a few fans aswell. I remember a few years ago when everyone was on the Joshua hype, I had a team Fury t-shirt and most people asked me why I liked that "dickhead". Fast forward a few years and everyone was hyping Fury and turning on Joshua. But I was in the tattooist the other day and everyone was saying they hope Usyk smashes Fury up! I really want Fury to win but if he was to lose I can see alot of casual fans turning on him and jumping back on Joshua, especially if he beats Franklin in style. First they love you, then they hate you, then they love you again.
I have no idea why Eddie hasn't lined Whyte up for an immediate AJ-Whyte2. if AJ blows Franklin out of the water and Whyte as well, it will lay the foundations for his stock to regenerate. I know a lot of non-Brits won't be impressed, but that was never AJ's main base I've never been a huge AJ fan but with Fury shitting the bed it's the perfect time for him to regain some of his fans. People love familiarity at the end of the day. ''Yeah AJ's lost 3 times and might not be as good as Fury but at least he fought that Usyk bloke twice and I love to watch him knock people out'' Just how it is
I actually think AJ may have his hand full with Franklin - not a power puncher but he puts them together well and took some good shots from Whyte without going over. If AJ is cautious or lazy he may well have his hands full. Surely if AJ beats Franklin it's straight into the rematch with Whyte? Looser goes home type of stuff. We might actually see AJ?Whyte V Wilder while it still has some merit.
This content is protected Ok forget that, must have been an old pic or this new one is with him having a serious pump because he looks like his old self there.
Hearn has already said it will be Whyte next. Not a fight I particularly want to see however it is just about acceptable as a tune up providing he fights wilder or Joyce in the winter. Another 7-8 month lay off however would show that they don’t plan on taking any decent fights and are just looking for the loot.
Is there really much interest in a Joshua v crappy Whyte rematch? Whyte is essentially coming off 2 losses and the first fight was pretty one sided even though AJ got clipped.
Personally no but Whyte still has a decent following in the UK and is easy for Hearn to make and promote. Can’t see the result being any different to the first one.
What are your honest opinions on Franklin as an opponent? If it was Fury or Wilder you’d have slaughtered them, and rightly so, will you be consistent with Joshua?
Joshua is coming off two consecutive losses and has a new trainer. It is completely different. Franklin is coming off a career best performance against Whyte very recently. Obviously someone like Hrgovic or Zhang would have been better. I think Franklin would beat Wallin.
I understand the logic, but I think it's indicative of a lack of confidence. I think it's a strange opponent, I rank Joshua in the "best of the rest" group behind Usyk and Fury. I'd also group Joyce and Wilder in there too. Joshua is 33 and an explosive athlete. Because of this, I think he will decline relatively quickly when he is past prime - he may even be already. Fighting someone like Franklin, if he's serious about challenging for titles again, is a bit odd. It'll then likely be another 9 months or so until his next fight. I'd expect Joshua to handle someone like Whyte with ease. Whyte is a far bigger profile than Franklin and probably only a slightly riskier fight in reality. The difference would be that Whyte is far likelier to land something big and carries a risk due to the power he holds, even if the rest of his game is pretty poor. To match him against a low risk low profile opponent like Franklin suggests he needs to build his confidence.
