Past world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua returned to winning days after beating American Jermaine Franklin by judgment in London on Saturday.
It was Joshua’s first fight since losing his rematch with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk last year.
Moreover, after 11 rounds, Joshua emerged victorious, with the judges scoring the fight 118-111, 117-111, and 117-111 in his favour.
The first round started with Joshua ascending as he looked to work his left jab.
He started to open up slightly in the second round, but blood came out from his nose after a series of neat jabs from Franklin.
The pair started to exchange blows through the third period. Joshua struggled to push through the gears, and Franklin’s slick jab was proving a real weapon as the fight reached a cagey stage going into the fifth round.
A good right hand started the fifth, but Joshua struggled to make a significant breakthrough, with Franklin certainly in the fight.
The American continued to press forward himself at the midway point, with Joshua finding himself in a real test against a slick opponent as the pair finally exchanged in a small flurry at the end of the sixth
Some heavy shots finally hit their target in the tenth for Joshua who had much more success in the stanza. Franklin continued to trade and fire back as the fight started to open up.
It all came down to the final round, with Joshua landing a big uppercut, but it finally went to the scorecards with Joshua victorious.
