oshua vs Franklin LIVE! begins his latest chapter on a huge night of at ’s . The two-time world heavyweight champion effectively puts his illustrious career on the line against , desperately seeking a statement comeback victory after consecutive damaging defeats by Oleksandr Usyk and three losses in his last five contests. Joshua has claimed that he will retire if he loses to the
American this evening, but in reality he’s a huge favourite for a destructive triumph that could yet set up a mammoth summer showdown with Tyson Fury having bulked up to a career-heaviest weight under the tutelage of new trainer Derrick James in Dallas. But Franklin is not an opponent to underestimate, having pushed Joshua’s nemesis Dillian Whyte all the way before a contentious points defeat in November.
British heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley headlines the undercard in another intriguing battle, with the likes of Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams, Galal Yafai and Campbell Hatton all in action, though Felix Cash has pulled out of his European middleweight title challenge due to illness. Follow Joshua vs Franklin and the undercard live below! A bit overly eager from Williams early doors in the first, but you can already see his talent for varied attacks and combination punching. Wilson-Bent is eager to come forward but needs to be careful. Houston’s Milwaukee-born southpaw Williams is unbeaten at 13-0, having outpointed both Simon Madsen and Kieron Conway last year as well as stopping Chordale Booker and Javier Maciel early. Can he continue to impress on his third trip to the UK? Coventry’s Wilson-Bent is 14-2-1, with losses to Hamzah Sheeraz and Tyler Denny on his record from last year. He bounced back by outpointing Darryl Sharp in front of a hometown crowd last month. Austin Williams had been hoping to fight Felix Cash last month in a WBA middleweight semi-final title eliminator in
Liverpool. However, Cash instead chose to pursue the European title, before having to pull out of his scheduled challenge against Matteo Signani tonight due to illness. Hopefully we still get to see Ammo-Cash at some point after the two clashed following the latter’s win over Celso Neves on the Josh Warrington-Luis Alberto Lopez undercard in Leeds in December. And that does it for the early portion of tonight’s undercard at the O2 Arena. The main bill starts shortly, kicking off with highly-rated unbeaten American middleweight Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams. He takes on Englishman River Wilson-Bent. 80-72 in Hedges’ favour in his first eight-round contest. He may feel that he should have got the stoppage there, but it’s a resounding victory nonetheless to move him to 8-0. Very much one to watch. Bocianski sees the final bell, despite absorbing more heavy punishment in the final round. Really impressed by Hedges’ variety - his uppercuts and straight shots are gorgeous, and he fires that long right hand seemingly out of nowhere at times. An accomplished display full of confidence and variety from ‘The Gentleman’. This will be a very wide score. Hedges is trying to walk a tired and listless Bocianski onto him and set traps at all times. He thunders in another brutal uppercut that lands flush, with more powerful straight hands to follow as well as further bruising body shots. Hedges has won every round comfortably here. We’re through seven, can he step it up and try to get a demoralised and well-beaten opponent out of there in the eighth and final round? Hedges is brimming with confidence, attacking the body at will and crashing in one of those long, looping left uppercuts. His combination punching is excellent. The young man is thoroughly enjoying himself out there, sauntering around the ring, picking his punches and planning those varied attacks so well. Bocianski’s face is clearly swollen - it’s been a punishing night so far for the Polish fighter. There is not much he can throw at any distance without being tagged by a sharp counter. Superb power, anticipation and variety on display from Hedges in the fifth, piecing together some damaging combinations to body and head. That straight left is a beauty. He’s really going through the gears nicely here. The movement and conditioning looks great in the first eight-rounder of his young career. Bocianski is gritty but looks to have nothing whatsoever to challenge the 6ft 6in Takeley native. Hedges - who is only 20 - is nimble on his feet for such a big man and makes Bocianski miss badly with a huge swing over the ropes early in the fourth. He follows it up with a bruising hook to the body and then catches the Pole with one of those fearsome straight shots upstairs. Bocianski certainly felt that and looks unsteady on his feet as he eats a couple more, but a warning from the referee allows him some time to recover. Hedges looking really good now at the halfway stage of this eight-rounder.