Ladbrookes receives 85% of the bets ‘AGAINST Anthony Joshua for his fight with Jermaine Franklin’

The vast majority of Ladbrookes’ bets on Anthony Joshua’s next fight with Jermaine Franklin have been “against the former world champion.”

Joshua is the heavy favorite to win in what will be his first fight since losing to Oleksandr Usyk in August, but punters still don’t seem convinced he’ll be able to pick up his first win since 2020 on Saturday.

His opponent lost his unbeaten record in a split decision to Dillian Whyte in their last fight, but he still boasts an impressive 21-1 record and comes into this weekend’s bout with very little expectation.

The bookie has Joshua a 1/10 favorite with Franklin a 6/1 outsider, yet a whopping 85% of their bets have been placed against him, according to reports in Sun.

If his confidence is rewarded, it could spell the end of a storied boxing career, as Joshua said earlier this week he would retire from the sport if he loses on Saturday.

Joshua is the heavy favorite but hasn’t fought since losing back-to-back fights to Oleksandr Usyk.

“I’m not here to fight people,” he said before the fight. ‘If people want me to retire, I will retire. I’m not going to fight if people don’t like me too. It’s not even about the money. It’s about the competitor in you. That’s what’s important.

AJ went on to discuss the pressure he’s under. He said: ‘It is it comes with the business and it comes with the territory, I know.’

‘I know that when I retire, I’m going to relax. I’ll be thinking fuck everyone. I finished.

‘You put so much pressure on me that when I’m done, the chains will come off. I’m going to be laughing and loving life.’

Promoter Eddie Hearn told Sportsmail that a loss would be “devastating” for Joshua, and he felt that Franklin was in much better shape than in previous fights.

The former world heavyweight champion has said he will retire if he loses the fight.

However, the American was keen to emphasize that it wasn’t just about his opponent, as he said: “A lot of people are painting the picture that if AJ loses, this could be the end of his career and if I win, this could project my career”. .

‘I don’t believe that if I win he has to retire because if I say that it means I’m a bum.

“The world says that basically if AJ loses to a guy like me then he’s finished, but I don’t feel like that’s true.

‘AJ can still beat a lot of guys, I feel confident enough that I can win. I feel like the world is still sleeping on me.