“I’ll put Joshua’s ass to sleep!” Interview with Jermain Franklin

American heavyweight fighter (over 90.7 kg) Jermaine Franklin (21-0, 14 KOs) gave
interview British media after a press conference dedicated to his future fight against former British champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs), which is scheduled in AJ’s homeland on April 1.

Franklin commented on his last year’s defeat to Briton Dillian Whyte (29-3, 19 KOs), spoke about himself, his future opponent and how he sees the future fight.

– First of all, the duel against Dillian Whyte brought you here. How many times did you watch it and how did you count it?

– I have watched it several times. I counted 7-5 or 8-4 in my favor.

– Considering your inactivity and the fact that you were an underdog, how proud are you of the performance that you showed?

“I’m really proud of myself. In fact, I did a similar thing after a 6 week camp. I was inactive, working at another job. I took the call, quit my job and just started working out. In fact, it was even a 4-week camp, because when we arrived here, for the first week and a half, we could hardly work, because there was no energy in my body. In the morning it was still good, but in the afternoon it was terrible. Especially sparring. I could only spar 4 rounds. It was the end of the world. Yes, the first one and a half to two weeks were really hard, but when I passed them, my body began to gain.

Franklin’s promoter stated, “My fighter did what Joshua couldn’t.” Then he had to explain

– Are you going back to the USA now or will you camp here?

“I’ll be back and camping in Florida, and then I’ll be back a week and a half to two weeks before the fight.

What stage of your career do you have to get to before you can say, “I’m never going back to my regular job?”

– I’m on my way now, I’m somewhere here. I don’t want to put on the brakes, I just want to keep moving forward with my career. As I tell many people, boxing is not a sport that you can do all your life. You gotta do your best while you can. If I can, I would like to fight 3-4 times a year. I want to promote this sport and bring more entertainment to it.

Why did they choose you?

“Honestly, I think they picked me because they know I beat Dillian Whyte. I feel like this is the reason I got the fight. Dillian didn’t win their first fight, they plan to fight him in the future so they want to see something different.

– What will we see different, compared to the fight against Whyte? It was a really good performance, but you didn’t get the winning decision. How will you make sure you win this time?

“I’ll put Joshua’s ass to sleep!” This is the only way I can do it. And that is what I will try to do. This is my main focus, my main goal. If I don’t get knocked out, if I don’t get shocked, then at least dominate the whole fight. Domination is my main focus this time.

All because of Usyk. Wallin Reveals Why Joshua Chose Franklin

– Do you look at Joshua differently now, after two defeats?

For me, he didn’t lose. He still has three belts waiting for someone to take them.

What do you think of Joshua as a fighter? How would you rate it?

– I like Joshua. He is strong, he has a decent jab. I am a fan of this sport. I watch many. Joshua is a great fighter. He has a resume to prove it. He achieved a lot in sports, such that people have never achieved. So I don’t take anything away from him, but it’s just a sport, you need to compete to the end. I’ll come see if I can take it from him. I am very competitive. I don’t want to lose. Whatever I play, I hate to lose. I put it in my box. It gives me kind of a tough nut spirit. I don’t think anyone can take it away. I’ll just try to impose my will and dominate.

What kind of fight are you looking forward to? Will it be a kind of chess game or will it be a war in the center of the ring? What do you expect?

— I like to play chess. I do certain things just to see how he reacts, how he moves, how he thinks about certain things. Some of them don’t have to be strong. I don’t have to hit you to make you think or move in a certain way. I just do things and they mix with your reaction, create a counter reaction. Really just playing chess until it’s time to fight.