Anthony Joshua, the former two-time world champion, has made a bold statement ahead of his comeback fight against Jermain Franklin at the O2 Arena.
The Nigerian born British boxer has vowed to retire from boxing if he loses to Franklin on Saturday evening.
Joshua is looking to bounce back from successive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk and record his first professional win since December 2020 when he beat Kubrat Pulev via TKO.
Despite being scheduled to fight Tyson Fury in a bout in November or December, Joshua opted to face Franklin in hopes of upturning his bad run of form and getting back in contention for the titles.
When asked about a possible end to his career, Joshua confidently stated, “I will retire if I lose. I’m not here to battle people.
If people want me to retire I will retire. I’m not going to fight if people don’t want me to.”
Despite the pressure he has had to bear in his career, Joshua indicated that he plans to enjoy himself post-retirement.
“I know when I am retired, I am gonna be chilling. You lot put so much pressure on me so when I am done, the chains are going to be gone. I am going to be laughing and loving life.”
Joshua also downplayed Franklin’s chances, claiming that his opponent needed the fight more for his career resurgence.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
