Anthony Joshua admits he should have knocked out Jermaine Franklin, as he secured his return to winning form in London. 

In a non-title fight, Joshua defeated Franklin with a unanimous points decision victory at the O2 Arena. 

Joshua was awarded the victory by 118-111, 117-111, 117-111, in front of a home crowd.

This was Joshua’s first win since 2020, having suffered successive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk which led to him losing and failing to regain his global titles. 

Joshua described Franklin’s style as a “good duck and dive”, and although he wishes he could have knocked him out, he believes Franklin did well. 

Lorenzo Adams, the strength and conditioning coach of Franklin, pushed Joshua after he pushed his head into Franklin, causing a brief altercation between the boxers’ corners.

Joshua’s win takes his professional record to 25 wins in 28 fights and he is eager to fight Tyson Fury for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world.