Anthony Joshua almost sparked an all-in brawl as he continued to fight Jermaine Franklin after the final bell, during his uninspiring unanimous points decision win over the American.
The British fighter had lost three of his last five contests, which included consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, but he tasted success again for the first time since 2020 after the judges scored the London bout 118-111, 117-111 and 117-111 in his favour.
However, a bizarre finish saw the 12th round appear to end eight seconds early before Joshua tapped and pushed his head into Franklin’s as the final bell rung out, which sparked an angry reaction from Lorenzo Adams, the strength and conditioning coach of Franklin, who pushed Joshua.
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Joshua then pushed Adams back as the former champion’s team also came to the ring. Tempers settled with the referee calming both sides down, bringing to an end another chaotic finish to a Joshua fight.
Joshua apologised for the fracas, referencing his meltdown following his rematch defeat by Oleksandr Usyk in August, saying: “Listen, last time I grabbed the mic it was a bit chaotic. So I’m calm, I appreciate every single person coming out this evening. Inside this squared circle, it’s a different kind of energy in here so I apologise for anybody watching and seeing that type of stuff [at the end] because we’re sportsmen.
“But I respect Jermaine, I respect everyone here tonight. (Promoter) Eddie (Hearn) thank you for this opportunity and fans, everybody watching at home thank you as well. If it weren’t a knockout it was important to get the win. You see Jermaine’s got a good duck and dive style. Someone else from Britain will knock him out, probably.
“There were opportunities there, but he knew how to tuck up. Respect to him, he done well and I respect him for that. Well done to him and his team for preparing. You know that they were prepared for the fight, I should have knocked him out but what can I say? It’s done and on to the next.”
Joshua regularly landed with his left jab and caught Franklin on a number of occasions with his powerful right but the American heavyweight stood firm at the 02 Arena.
The former world champion then turned his focus to WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
“You know me, I like to provide for the fans. I know who the fans want. Who do the fans want?” Joshua said.
“They said Fury? The ball is in his court, I will 100 per cent be honoured to compete for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world.
-with AP
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