Anthony Joshua v Jermaine Franklin April 1st

[nuggetdotcom]

Just to be clear

When I made my original comments about AJ not being worth a bill topping slot after his recent performance(s) there followed the sensible, boxing related comments and comparisons with older fighters of my youth, the normal stuff of this site, who coulda woulda shoulda. Then the popularity angle entered the argument which I for one poo poo'd, this site is about boxing after all.

Then I looked at AJ's wikipedia pages.....................

The purse monies he has been getting are mindblowing, he is truly a product of the media age, take a good amateur, turn him pro then get the media boys to do their work and keep your fingers crossed, some may call it 'popularity', I would call it hype, but if it sells PPV then so what. I did notice a recent post about Connor Wassname and UFC, same principle but on a beer money scale by comparison. Boxing ability has absolutely fuck all to do with the price of eggs.

Having said all that I dont begrudge any fighter the money, I just wish it could be shared on the basis of ability and results, not hype.

I bet Audley Harrison is sick, if only he was 8 years younger!!!!

Agreed with every single part of the above post, and have been banging on about it forever.
EXCEPT FOR THE LAST SENTENCE!
Audley had his chance when he turned pro. He had every top promoter in the World after him and became a millionaire without having a pro fight. Unfortunately he was BBC’s last throw of the dice before Sky etc. Mopped up. Some people even believe that Audley was to blame for the end of World class Boxing on free to air TV.
Audley basically:
Made some bad decisions
Wasn’t dedicated enough
Wasn’t good enough
Not exciting enough to sell out the “hype train”
Boxing ability is one thing , but it has to be backed up by bottle and a chin.
When you get found out, it’s over.

I didn't actually say Audley was any good, he just didn't have the same 'media managers' around him that AJ did 12 (not 8 as I said) years later.

Went with a group of local lads to see audley fight local (to us) lad Michael Sprott at Wembley, car got towed to the pound so we all ended up in a Wembley Indian, well lubricated, and asked the owner to book us a taxi home, we all had Sprott at 7/1 so were feeling no pain whatsoever.

[Primo Carnera]

Just to be clear

When I made my original comments about AJ not being worth a bill topping slot after his recent performance(s) there followed the sensible, boxing related comments and comparisons with older fighters of my youth, the normal stuff of this site, who coulda woulda shoulda. Then the popularity angle entered the argument which I for one poo poo'd, this site is about boxing after all.

Then I looked at AJ's wikipedia pages.....................

The purse monies he has been getting are mindblowing, he is truly a product of the media age, take a good amateur, turn him pro then get the media boys to do their work and keep your fingers crossed, some may call it 'popularity', I would call it hype, but if it sells PPV then so what. I did notice a recent post about Connor Wassname and UFC, same principle but on a beer money scale by comparison. Boxing ability has absolutely fuck all to do with the price of eggs.

Having said all that I dont begrudge any fighter the money, I just wish it could be shared on the basis of ability and results, not hype.

I bet Audley Harrison is sick, if only he was 8 years younger!!!!

Agreed with every single part of the above post, and have been banging on about it forever.
EXCEPT FOR THE LAST SENTENCE!
Audley had his chance when he turned pro. He had every top promoter in the World after him and became a millionaire without having a pro fight. Unfortunately he was BBC’s last throw of the dice before Sky etc. Mopped up. Some people even believe that Audley was to blame for the end of World class Boxing on free to air TV.
Audley basically:
Made some bad decisions
Wasn’t dedicated enough
Wasn’t good enough
Not exciting enough to sell out the “hype train”
Boxing ability is one thing , but it has to be backed up by bottle and a chin.
When you get found out, it’s over.

I didn't actually say Audley was any good, he just didn't have the same 'media managers' around him that AJ did 12 (not 8 as I said) years later.

Went with a group of local lads to see audley fight local (to us) lad Michael Sprott at Wembley, car got towed to the pound so we all ended up in a Wembley Indian, well lubricated, and asked the owner to book us a taxi home, we all had Sprott at 7/1 so were feeling no pain whatsoever.

No, but you alluded to the fact that Audley would’ve raked it in.
But he had the same chances that AJ had. The difference is that you have to back up the hype with a bit of substance.

[TIC]

some of these youtubers don't show much substance to back up the hype

[Master]

Joshua told the BBC : “Listen, I’m not perfect and it’s not the right thing to have done.

“I didn’t speak to Usyk but I spoke to Wladimir [Klitschko] and said give Usyk a pat on the shoulder and tell him well done and I apologise, that’s man-to-man.

“But it was just raw and it may not make sense to a lot of people, but it made a lot of sense to me.

“And it was just how much it means, to a degree.

“I thought I would feel like that at the end of my career – when it’s all said and done I’d just be like, ‘Wow, what a rollercoaster, I made it through the trenches.’

“But I feel getting so close to fighting for the undisputed title and getting that fight with [Tyson] Fury that people want so much it was like, ‘Yeah, I’m nearly there’. Then, bosh, I didn’t hear my name.

“And then there were certain things in the ring that were said, not excuses, but one was, ‘You’re big and strong.’

“Remember a lot of athletes from the African/Caribbean community are told that they’re ‘strong’ and I feel like it’s quite degrading because we don’t get mentioned about our talent and technique.

“I’m aware of that because I am a black fighter, so when he said I’m big and strong it was just like alarm bells going off.

“There’s loads of things that were triggering me at the time and it was just pure, raw, uncut emotion.”

https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1...-rant-rematch/

[Primo Carnera]

Joshua told the BBC : “Listen, I’m not perfect and it’s not the right thing to have done.

“I didn’t speak to Usyk but I spoke to Wladimir [Klitschko] and said give Usyk a pat on the shoulder and tell him well done and I apologise, that’s man-to-man.

“But it was just raw and it may not make sense to a lot of people, but it made a lot of sense to me.

“And it was just how much it means, to a degree.

“I thought I would feel like that at the end of my career – when it’s all said and done I’d just be like, ‘Wow, what a rollercoaster, I made it through the trenches.’

“But I feel getting so close to fighting for the undisputed title and getting that fight with [Tyson] Fury that people want so much it was like, ‘Yeah, I’m nearly there’. Then, bosh, I didn’t hear my name.

“And then there were certain things in the ring that were said, not excuses, but one was, ‘You’re big and strong.’

“Remember a lot of athletes from the African/Caribbean community are told that they’re ‘strong’ and I feel like it’s quite degrading because we don’t get mentioned about our talent and technique.

“I’m aware of that because I am a black fighter, so when he said I’m big and strong it was just like alarm bells going off.

“There’s loads of things that were triggering me at the time and it was just pure, raw, uncut emotion.”

https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1...-rant-rematch/

Now I have countlessly stuck up for AJ on here, but don’t start pulling the race card.
I heard what he was saying to Usyk about “what makes you better than me?” That could be seen as racist. “One of your lot” and all that.
Basically, he had a bit of a meltdown in the ring , he couldn’t work out why he didn’t have the answers, leave it like that.
Don’t embarrass yourself further.

[NoSavingByTheBell]

Joshua told the BBC : “Listen, I’m not perfect and it’s not the right thing to have done.

“I didn’t speak to Usyk but I spoke to Wladimir [Klitschko] and said give Usyk a pat on the shoulder and tell him well done and I apologise, that’s man-to-man.

“But it was just raw and it may not make sense to a lot of people, but it made a lot of sense to me.

“And it was just how much it means, to a degree.

“I thought I would feel like that at the end of my career – when it’s all said and done I’d just be like, ‘Wow, what a rollercoaster, I made it through the trenches.’

“But I feel getting so close to fighting for the undisputed title and getting that fight with [Tyson] Fury that people want so much it was like, ‘Yeah, I’m nearly there’. Then, bosh, I didn’t hear my name.

“And then there were certain things in the ring that were said, not excuses, but one was, ‘You’re big and strong.’

“Remember a lot of athletes from the African/Caribbean community are told that they’re ‘strong’ and I feel like it’s quite degrading because we don’t get mentioned about our talent and technique.

“I’m aware of that because I am a black fighter, so when he said I’m big and strong it was just like alarm bells going off.

“There’s loads of things that were triggering me at the time and it was just pure, raw, uncut emotion.”

https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1...-rant-rematch/

"I'm the NEW BREED of Heavyweights, yo!"

[Master]

Ticket prices for Anthony Joshua's comeback fight against Jermaine Franklin have been slashed to avoid potential embarrassment for AJ on the night. There are still a "couple of thousand" tickets up for grabs as Eddie Hearn attempts to sell out the 14,000 capacity at the O2 Arena in London, a venue where the two-time heavyweight world champion has plenty of history.

Joshua made his debut at the O2 way back in October 2013 against Emanuele Leo and has since boxed at the arena a further six times - the latest of which was against Dominic Breazeale in 2016 when he successfully defended his red IBF strap.

AJ also secured a statement victory over British rival Dillian Whyte in Greenwich in December 2015 before later moving onto big stadium fights at Wembley and the Principality in Cardiff.

But to mark his unfortunate fall from grace following back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua is now facing the prospect of returning to the ring in front of a non sell-out crowd when he goes to war with Franklin at the start of April.

Much has been made at the number of tickets still up for grabs on The O2's website, so much so, that prices have now taken a tumble in a bid to entice fans into purchasing.

There are still a vast range of tickets up for grabs priced from £95 to £117 and for the higher price, you can get great seats with an impressive view of the ring.

This is unprecedented territory for Joshua since he won his first world title in 2016 as it's now becoming clear he is no longer the pull he once was following three defeats at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr and Usyk (twice).

Hearn recently admitted that AJ's stock has somewhat naturally fallen before backing his man to launch a bid to become a three-time world heavyweight champion.

The Matchroom chief said in an interview with ESBR Boxing: "He's coming off two defeats, so of course you're not going to be the same size commercially as you were when you beat Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000.

"But he's a great fighter, he's one of the best heavyweights in the world. I feel like he can still be the best heavyweight in the world.

"And it's difficult times as well, yeah we've sold 14,000 tickets at the O2, we've got a couple of thousand left - which will all go.

"The fighters get their tickets this week as well, so there's not going to be many left.

"But he needs to make a statement and he needs to get people excited about Anthony Joshua again.

"We all love him, the country loves him, but do they believe in him as a top heavyweight, April 1 we will see."

The fight will be Joshua's first under new coach Derrick James, who is looking to carry out a "back to basics" approach to get AJ firing again.

Franklin will be no walkover though having recently pushed Whyte all the way during their November slugfest, a bout many thought the American won despite losing by majority decision.

The 989 Assassin has won 21 of his 22 bouts and could prove to be a banana skin for Joshua, who is eyeing a mega-fight with Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury in the second half of 2023.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...e3bd16f5&ei=36

[Master]

Fury Sr wants to see fans backing the Watford powerhouse as he begins the arduous journey back to the top and believes the best is yet to come for AJ with the fight with Tyson still within reach.

Speaking to Express Sport via Free Bets, he said: "Listen, AJ's a great kid, fans shouldn't be turning against him and if they're, then it's wrong. AJ has given the public some great nights and they should support the man. Let me tell you this, the best is yet to come from AJ, so the fans should get behind him and let's get him back to winning ways again and make the super fight once Tyson is done with the Ukrainian rabbit.

"It's the biggest fight in boxing, absolutely. It's bigger than Usyk. Joshua and Tyson is still a great fight. So, I urge fans, get behind the man don't kick him when he's down."

Although he admits AJ could have chosen a better opponent for his comeback. "If his name was Anthony Fury, he'd be selling them out, wouldn't he? But unfortunately, his name is Anthony Joshua and it's a s*** fight. I'm only being honest. You know, who knows Jermaine Franklin over here? He's a good fighter but he's got no name and it's a D-level fight," he added.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...e3bd16f5&ei=49

[nuggetdotcom]

Ticket prices for Anthony Joshua's comeback fight against Jermaine Franklin have been slashed to avoid potential embarrassment for AJ on the night. There are still a "couple of thousand" tickets up for grabs as Eddie Hearn attempts to sell out the 14,000 capacity at the O2 Arena in London, a venue where the two-time heavyweight world champion has plenty of history.

Joshua made his debut at the O2 way back in October 2013 against Emanuele Leo and has since boxed at the arena a further six times - the latest of which was against Dominic Breazeale in 2016 when he successfully defended his red IBF strap.

AJ also secured a statement victory over British rival Dillian Whyte in Greenwich in December 2015 before later moving onto big stadium fights at Wembley and the Principality in Cardiff.

But to mark his unfortunate fall from grace following back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua is now facing the prospect of returning to the ring in front of a non sell-out crowd when he goes to war with Franklin at the start of April.

Much has been made at the number of tickets still up for grabs on The O2's website, so much so, that prices have now taken a tumble in a bid to entice fans into purchasing.

There are still a vast range of tickets up for grabs priced from £95 to £117 and for the higher price, you can get great seats with an impressive view of the ring.

This is unprecedented territory for Joshua since he won his first world title in 2016 as it's now becoming clear he is no longer the pull he once was following three defeats at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr and Usyk (twice).

Hearn recently admitted that AJ's stock has somewhat naturally fallen before backing his man to launch a bid to become a three-time world heavyweight champion.

The Matchroom chief said in an interview with ESBR Boxing: "He's coming off two defeats, so of course you're not going to be the same size commercially as you were when you beat Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000.

"But he's a great fighter, he's one of the best heavyweights in the world. I feel like he can still be the best heavyweight in the world.

"And it's difficult times as well, yeah we've sold 14,000 tickets at the O2, we've got a couple of thousand left - which will all go.

"The fighters get their tickets this week as well, so there's not going to be many left.

"But he needs to make a statement and he needs to get people excited about Anthony Joshua again.

"We all love him, the country loves him, but do they believe in him as a top heavyweight, April 1 we will see."

The fight will be Joshua's first under new coach Derrick James, who is looking to carry out a "back to basics" approach to get AJ firing again.

Franklin will be no walkover though having recently pushed Whyte all the way during their November slugfest, a bout many thought the American won despite losing by majority decision.

The 989 Assassin has won 21 of his 22 bouts and could prove to be a banana skin for Joshua, who is eyeing a mega-fight with Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury in the second half of 2023.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...e3bd16f5&ei=36

Boxers are born not trained.

How many 'trainers' did Naz have?
How many trainers did Cassius have?
How mant trainers did Joe Frazier have?

April 1st is the right date for another round of showbiz with blood.

[nuggetdotcom]

Just to be clear

When I made my original comments about AJ not being worth a bill topping slot after his recent performance(s) there followed the sensible, boxing related comments and comparisons with older fighters of my youth, the normal stuff of this site, who coulda woulda shoulda. Then the popularity angle entered the argument which I for one poo poo'd, this site is about boxing after all.

Then I looked at AJ's wikipedia pages.....................

The purse monies he has been getting are mindblowing, he is truly a product of the media age, take a good amateur, turn him pro then get the media boys to do their work and keep your fingers crossed, some may call it 'popularity', I would call it hype, but if it sells PPV then so what. I did notice a recent post about Connor Wassname and UFC, same principle but on a beer money scale by comparison. Boxing ability has absolutely fuck all to do with the price of eggs.

Having said all that I dont begrudge any fighter the money, I just wish it could be shared on the basis of ability and results, not hype.

I bet Audley Harrison is sick, if only he was 8 years younger!!!!

Agreed with every single part of the above post, and have been banging on about it forever.
EXCEPT FOR THE LAST SENTENCE!
Audley had his chance when he turned pro. He had every top promoter in the World after him and became a millionaire without having a pro fight. Unfortunately he was BBC’s last throw of the dice before Sky etc. Mopped up. Some people even believe that Audley was to blame for the end of World class Boxing on free to air TV.
Audley basically:
Made some bad decisions
Wasn’t dedicated enough
Wasn’t good enough
Not exciting enough to sell out the “hype train”
Boxing ability is one thing , but it has to be backed up by bottle and a chin.
When you get found out, it’s over.

I didn't actually say Audley was any good, he just didn't have the same 'media managers' around him that AJ did 12 (not 8 as I said) years later.

Went with a group of local lads to see audley fight local (to us) lad Michael Sprott at Wembley, car got towed to the pound so we all ended up in a Wembley Indian, well lubricated, and asked the owner to book us a taxi home, we all had Sprott at 7/1 so were feeling no pain whatsoever.

No, but you alluded to the fact that Audley would’ve raked it in.
But he had the same chances that AJ had. The difference is that you have to back up the hype with a bit of substance.

I think you'll find nosavingbythebell said that, not me, the substance bit is surely the stuff of debate, and everyone's got an opinion.

[Big J]

I think it's a good fight for Joshua coming off losses & working with another new trainer
The question is does Joshua get any credit for winning?
If Joshua struggles like Whyte did there'll be the usual calls for him to retire
If he blows Franklin away they'll say he fought a nobody

[Primo Carnera]

Just to be clear

When I made my original comments about AJ not being worth a bill topping slot after his recent performance(s) there followed the sensible, boxing related comments and comparisons with older fighters of my youth, the normal stuff of this site, who coulda woulda shoulda. Then the popularity angle entered the argument which I for one poo poo'd, this site is about boxing after all.

Then I looked at AJ's wikipedia pages.....................

The purse monies he has been getting are mindblowing, he is truly a product of the media age, take a good amateur, turn him pro then get the media boys to do their work and keep your fingers crossed, some may call it 'popularity', I would call it hype, but if it sells PPV then so what. I did notice a recent post about Connor Wassname and UFC, same principle but on a beer money scale by comparison. Boxing ability has absolutely fuck all to do with the price of eggs.

Having said all that I dont begrudge any fighter the money, I just wish it could be shared on the basis of ability and results, not hype.

I bet Audley Harrison is sick, if only he was 8 years younger!!!!

Agreed with every single part of the above post, and have been banging on about it forever.
EXCEPT FOR THE LAST SENTENCE!
Audley had his chance when he turned pro. He had every top promoter in the World after him and became a millionaire without having a pro fight. Unfortunately he was BBC’s last throw of the dice before Sky etc. Mopped up. Some people even believe that Audley was to blame for the end of World class Boxing on free to air TV.
Audley basically:
Made some bad decisions
Wasn’t dedicated enough
Wasn’t good enough
Not exciting enough to sell out the “hype train”
Boxing ability is one thing , but it has to be backed up by bottle and a chin.
When you get found out, it’s over.

I didn't actually say Audley was any good, he just didn't have the same 'media managers' around him that AJ did 12 (not 8 as I said) years later.

Went with a group of local lads to see audley fight local (to us) lad Michael Sprott at Wembley, car got towed to the pound so we all ended up in a Wembley Indian, well lubricated, and asked the owner to book us a taxi home, we all had Sprott at 7/1 so were feeling no pain whatsoever.

No, but you alluded to the fact that Audley would’ve raked it in.
But he had the same chances that AJ had. The difference is that you have to back up the hype with a bit of substance.

I think you'll find nosavingbythebell said that, not me, the substance bit is surely the stuff of debate, and everyone's got an opinion.

So what does Your comment “ I bet Audley Harrison is sick, if only he was 8 years younger!!!!” Imply?
Brock just latched onto that like he does.

[nuggetdotcom]

Just to be clear

When I made my original comments about AJ not being worth a bill topping slot after his recent performance(s) there followed the sensible, boxing related comments and comparisons with older fighters of my youth, the normal stuff of this site, who coulda woulda shoulda. Then the popularity angle entered the argument which I for one poo poo'd, this site is about boxing after all.

Then I looked at AJ's wikipedia pages.....................

The purse monies he has been getting are mindblowing, he is truly a product of the media age, take a good amateur, turn him pro then get the media boys to do their work and keep your fingers crossed, some may call it 'popularity', I would call it hype, but if it sells PPV then so what. I did notice a recent post about Connor Wassname and UFC, same principle but on a beer money scale by comparison. Boxing ability has absolutely fuck all to do with the price of eggs.

Having said all that I dont begrudge any fighter the money, I just wish it could be shared on the basis of ability and results, not hype.

I bet Audley Harrison is sick, if only he was 8 years younger!!!!

Agreed with every single part of the above post, and have been banging on about it forever.
EXCEPT FOR THE LAST SENTENCE!
Audley had his chance when he turned pro. He had every top promoter in the World after him and became a millionaire without having a pro fight. Unfortunately he was BBC’s last throw of the dice before Sky etc. Mopped up. Some people even believe that Audley was to blame for the end of World class Boxing on free to air TV.
Audley basically:
Made some bad decisions
Wasn’t dedicated enough
Wasn’t good enough
Not exciting enough to sell out the “hype train”
Boxing ability is one thing , but it has to be backed up by bottle and a chin.
When you get found out, it’s over.

I didn't actually say Audley was any good, he just didn't have the same 'media managers' around him that AJ did 12 (not 8 as I said) years later.

Went with a group of local lads to see audley fight local (to us) lad Michael Sprott at Wembley, car got towed to the pound so we all ended up in a Wembley Indian, well lubricated, and asked the owner to book us a taxi home, we all had Sprott at 7/1 so were feeling no pain whatsoever.

No, but you alluded to the fact that Audley would’ve raked it in.
But he had the same chances that AJ had. The difference is that you have to back up the hype with a bit of substance.

I think you'll find nosavingbythebell said that, not me, the substance bit is surely the stuff of debate, and everyone's got an opinion.

So what does Your comment “ I bet Audley Harrison is sick, if only he was 8 years younger!!!!” Imply?
Brock just latched onto that like he does.

Sick that if he was 12 years younger, won an olympic title in 2012 he would have got the same media hype as AJ did, ie miles better than his attempt in 2000 and miles more lucrative than 100k per fight off the bloody BBC. I dont seem to have made that clear.

[Primo Carnera]

Like I said, he had his there was plenty of hype around Audley, but the difference is that he never produced enough to back up the hype. And then it stops.

[nuggetdotcom]

Like I said, he had his there was plenty of hype around Audley, but the difference is that he never produced enough to back up the hype. And then it stops.

And MY point was nothing to do with the relative ABILITIES of two olympic champions, which are obviously debateable. I was pointing out the VAST difference in 'hype' money that 12 years generated, and that Audley must wish he was born 12 yrs later, is that clear?

If you want to pick a fight about comparing the two as boxers, go and find somebody who gives a fuck.