Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin fight prediction, odds, start

Where do you go when you’ve lost your place as one of the best heavyweight fighters on the planet? That’s the question facing two-time former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua as he prepares to face Jermaine Franklin on Saturday.

After winning the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in front of his countrymen in London, Joshua quickly proved himself one of the top heavyweights in the professional ranks. Joshua knocked out Charles Martin in the second round of his 16th professional fight to become IBF heavyweight champion. Joshua won the then-vacant WBA title three fights later with a late stoppage of Wladimir Klitschko and took just two more fights to add the WBO title with a decision victory over Joseph Parker.

With three of the four recognized world championships already in his collection, it seemed Joshua was destined to sit atop the heavyweight division for years to come. Then came a fight with lightly-regarded Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019 and the first sign that the wheels were starting to come off the Joshua wagon.

Ruiz knocked out Joshua — who entered the fight as upwards of a -2500 favorite — in seven rounds, scoring one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight championship history. Joshua was able to dominate the rematch with Ruiz, winning back his titles in the process, and followed that up with a knockout win over Kubrat Pulev before facing off with former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

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Again, Joshua suffered an upset loss when he was thoroughly outboxed by the smaller man. Joshua entered the rematch as an underdog for the first time in his career. While he put on a better performance than the first meeting, it was Usyk whose had…