JERMAINE FRANKLIN’S transformed physique left Eddie Hearn shocked ahead of his fight with Anthony Joshua at the O2 Arena.
In Franklin’s last fight, a controversial split decision loss to Dillian Whyte, the American weighed in at 257lbs.
Jermaine Franklin has lost 24lbs since his last fight in November against Dillian WhyteRichard Pelham / The Sun
Eddie Hearn was shocked at Franklin’s transformationRichard Pelham / The Sun
Now. ahead of Franklin’s fight with Joshua on Saturday night, the American heavyweight has lost 24lbs and is “ripped to shreds.”
Hearn couldn’t believe it when he saw Franklin’s physique.
Speaking to Boxing Social he said: ” I went downstairs and saw Jermaine Franklin having his photos taken and all of a sudden he’s got an eight pack.
“When he boxed Dillian Whyte he had a belly on him, but I’ve just seen him with his kit off, he’s absolutely ripped to shreds.
“I don’t know what’s happened, he says he’s lost 24 lbs.
“I don’t know whether it’s going to help him or hinder him, hopefully the latter because we need AJ to knock him out in style on Saturday night.”
The American took to Twitter to respond to the clip.
He tweeted: ” Maybe a four pack lol. I have put in the work. It’s going to be a great fight.”
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As well as appearing physically ready, Franklin seems to have a real focus ahead of his huge fight against Joshua.
Speaking to talkSPORT’s Gareth Davies, he said: “I see that he struggles a little bit with smaller guys.
“He likes to trade at points in the fight, so we’ve been looking at that and looking at different ways we can attack and adjustments we can make to make it more comfortable.”
When pushed for a prediction Franklin said: “If it’s not a knockout then it will be a domination brutally.
“I’ll go at him, see what he’s going to do and see if I can make him make mistakes early.”
For Joshua this is a must win fight having lost his last two fights to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk.
Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin – Date, live stream, TV channel and all you need to know about heavyweight bout