Joshua’s comeback fight to take place at O2 Arena in London.

Anthony Joshua, who had unified the WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles between 2016 and 2018, will have his comeback fight against Jermaine Franklin on April 1 at the O2 Arena in London.

Anthony Joshua-Jermaine Franklin Official For April 1, Joshua's First Bout With James https://t.co/vD5qA39A0C pic.twitter.com/MB2RmaLavn

— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) February 6, 2023

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Fury-Usyk clash confirmed for December 21 in Saudi Arabia

This will be Joshua’s first bout without at least one world title on the line in almost seven years.

The Englishman lost them when Andy Ruiz stopped him in New York in 2019 but he reclaimed them in an immediate rematch later that year.

He has, however, only won one bout since then, a 2020 stoppage victory over Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev.

Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk, unbeaten and formerly an undisputed champion down at cruiserweight, outboxed and outpointed Joshua at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2021.

Last August Joshua, with new trainer Robert Garcia in his corner, took him on a second time but was also defeated in that rematch in Saudi Arabia.