Former world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua has announced his retirement from boxing if he loses his next fight against Jermaine Franklin.
Prior to his next bout, Joshua was scheduled to fight Tyson Fury in November or December, however, the fight never happened due to sponsorship issues.
The 33-year-old is now billed to face Franklin on Saturday at the O2 Arena in Greenwich, London.
The former champion will hope to upturn his bad form, after losing to Oleksandr Usyk in August of 2022 and get back in contention for the title.
“I will retire if I don’t win,” Joshua said when asked about a possible end to his career.
“I’m not here to battle people. If people want me to retire I will retire. I’m not willing to fight if people don’t want me to.”
“It’s not even about money. It’s about the competitor in you. That’s important.”
Speaking about his post-retirement plans, Joshua indicated he would enjoy himself despite the pressure he has had to bear in his career.
‘I know when I am retired, I am gonna be chilling,” he said.
‘You lot put so much pressure on me so when I am done, the chains are going to be gone. I am going to be laughing and loving life.’
He also tried to downplay Franklon’s chances claiming his opponent needed the fight more for his career resurgence
‘You’ve got Jermaine Franklin here, who is about 28 pounds lighter than he was against Dillian Whyte’s fight.
‘He’s now got a six-pack and this is what happens when you’re fighting Anthony Joshua. It’s a chance for him [Franklin] to catapult himself into the world of the heavyweight division.”
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