‘Anthony Joshua must KO Jermaine Franklin early then call out Tyson Fury’

Carl Frampton has insisted that Anthony Joshua needs to produce a statement victory against Jermaine Franklin on Saturday night before creating headlines away from the action.

Joshua takes on the unfancied Franklin, who last lost to Dillian Whyte via majority decision, at London’s O2 Arena and knows only triumphing will do as he looks to get his heavyweight career back on track.

AJ is reeling following back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk – not only has his slump scuppered dreams of a gigantic all-British fight with Tyson Fury but it has placed his heavyweight career under jeopardy.

But victory over Franklin would set him on the right track again, and Frampton believes the only way Joshua can walk away with real credibility from the fight is if he ends Franklin’s hopes early on before calling out Fury – which would show that he still means business.

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In his column for BBC Sport, Frampton wrote: “Anthony Joshua has to not only beat Jermaine Franklin at the O2 Arena on Saturday, he has to win in style. A points win is not good enough. I want to see him get rid of Franklin early, stand in the ring and call out Tyson Fury.

“Fury-Joshua is still huge. A massive fight not just for British boxing but also on a global stage. A loss, and I think that’s the end for Joshua. Where does he go from there?”

Despite admitting there’s plenty at stake for Joshua this weekend, two-time weight world champion Frampton is very confident he’ll get the job done in the English capital.

Discussing more about how a loss would all-but end his career, Frampton added: “But I don’t think that will happen. This is a fight where Joshua can get the confidence back a bit. After consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, that’s what the big man desperately needs.

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“This is the perfect type of fight for Joshua to come back to – an opponent who is credible enough. I actually thought Franklin beat Dillian Whyte in his last fight, although he didn’t get the decision.

“But in terms of a heavyweight boxer, he’s got 22 fights with 14 knockouts. It’s a nice ratio for a featherweight, but not necessarily for a heavyweight.”

A victory for Joshua could mean a mouth-watering fight with Fury is back on, after talks between the two British giants collapsed before his back-to-back defeats against Ukrainian Usyk.

Fury and Usyk had been locked in negotiations over a fight that would seal the undisputed heavyweight king, but those talks have collapsed with both parties digging out each other.

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