Jermaine Franklin: I am ready for AJ – 12-hour shifts at wool factory prepares you for anything

From working shifts in a wool factory to facing Anthony Joshua – Jermaine Franklin is set up for a rags-to-riches, modern day Rocky story if the underdog beats one of the richest, most marketable heavyweights in history.

Saturday’s challenge is a win-win for Franklin, 29. An upset would shut the door on an estimated £100 million in earnings for Joshua’s next three fights; in theory against Joe Joyce, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury. For Franklin, it would mean global stardom and a place in the history books.

His rise in the blue riband division has been remarkable. Last November, with his record at 21-0 (14 KOs), an opportunity knocked against Dillian Whyte. Franklin was expected to lose but he pushed Whyte to the wire, and lost a controversial majority decision many believed he had won.

Undaunted – by dint of his upbringing, he says – and his work ethic in poverty-stricken Saginaw, Michigan, he had faith in greater chances in life. “There are few opportunities where I’m from, there is poverty there. Hope and faith is a big thing there, and I have that state of mind,” Franklin explained.

‘I watch a lot of boxing – I saw what happened with Joshua and Ruiz’

A year ago, revealed the quietly spoken heavyweight, he had been “working 12-hour shifts in a wool factory to support my family. I was in a knitting department, making netting that goes in between the vinyl cord.” It meant reduced time for training.

“Before I got the Dillian fight, I wasn’t in the gym at all, because I wasn’t making any money. So I had to work and take care of my family. And then we got that fight. It meant I could then train properly, dedicated,” Franklin said.

Franklin has had a full camp this time. Jesse Addison, his trainer, told Telegraph Sport that his fighter is underrated at any opponent’s peril, and that through a camp in Hollywood, Florida, he lost 1st 10lb in weight, and dug deep down into his skillset.

“It has been a dedicated camp and we know our guy can do this because Joshua has weaknesses that our guy can exploit,” Addison said.

Franklin added: “I’m feeling good and strong, mentally and physically. We’ve had some good sparring partners there, I’ve just been learning new things and making my skills sharper. I watch a lot of boxing and I saw what happened with Joshua and Andy Ruiz.”

‘If there are mental scars, we will expose them’

Ruiz, of course, made his name on the back of dropping Joshua four times and forcing the stoppage at Madison Square Garden in Joshua’s first career defeat in 2019. Can Franklin exploit those mental scars?

“If there are mental scars, we will expose them,” he said. “I see he struggles a little bit with smaller guys, he likes to trade punches at points in the fight, so we’ve just been looking at that and looking at different ways we can attack or adjustments we can make to make him more uncomfortable. I’m one of those guys who will sit there and I’ll go back and forth with you in exchanges, but my biggest thing is being safe. Boxing is a brutal sport so you’ve got to protect yourself in there and just do it the smart way.”

‘I will go at him, see what he does, see if we can get him to make mistakes early’

He was disappointed by the judges in his fight with Whyte. “I don’t know what the judges were watching, the [CompuBox] stats said different from what the judges scored but this is boxing,” he said. “This time I just know that I have to be more dominating, I have to make it to the point where the judges can’t deny me anything. If it’s not a knockout then it’s a domination brutally. I will go at him, see what he does, see if we can get him to make mistakes early.”

And victory? “It would mean I can stake my claim as a top heavyweight, I think it would do a lot for my career. I want to bring boxing back to the exciting days when all the top guys were fighting each other. I think that’s what boxing is missing.”

There is nuance in his plan, but having seen Joshua down against Ruiz, Franklin said: “I’m trying to knock Anthony’s ass out. I mean there’s no prettier way to say it – I respect him and I respect what he’s done for the sport, I respect him as a fighter but they said they’re going to knock me out in four rounds, so let’s see what that’s about.

“I didn’t expect to get a fair shake here last time. In my honest opinion, it was 7-5 for me [against Whyte]. But I see myself right now as 22 and 0 in my career. Anyway, look what it led to. This opportunity... which can be life changing for me.”

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