Former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew has urged Anthony Joshua to knock out Jermaine Franklin ahead of their proposed bout in London.
Joshua will fight Franklin April 1 at the O2 Arena, as he looks to bounce back from back-to-back defeats against Oleksandr Usyk and record his first win in the ring since 2020.
This will be the first time since 2015 that Joshua has not had a world title on the line in one of his fights, as he currently sits outside of contention for the belts in the heavyweight division.
Joshua will need to start getting some wins under his belt if he wants to get back in contention for world titles, and that all begins with Franklin.
Bellew, though, believes it is not good enough for the British-Nigerian to just beat Franklin, and Joshua needs to win in style if he wants to rise to the top of the heavyweight division once again.
“Joshua is coming off the back of two defeats,” Bellew told talkSPORT. “So, we just want to see him back in the ring.
“We want to see him shining and we want to see him get that big knockout win, which I think he’ll get against Jermaine Franklin.
