Unconvincing Joshua beats Franklin by unanimous decision

After 12 rounds, Joshua was given the win by 118-111, 117-111, 117-111 on the scorecards of the three judges.

There were ugly scenes at the end of the bout as the corners and fighters clashed momentarily and security stepped in to calm the situation.

This was the 33-year-old former world heavyweight champion Joshua's first victory since 2020 after successive defeats by Oleksandr Usyk saw the former Olympic champion lose, and then fail to regain his global titles.

Speaking after the victory and his next opponent, Joshua said "I know who the fans want" before asking the crowd for confirmation.

"They said Fury, yeah?" he asked. "The ball's in (Fury's) court."

"I would 100% be honoured to compete for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world. I stand here and I say that proudly. That would be an honour."

"So wherever you are, if you’re listening: you know my management, you know my promoter. We’ve had (discussions) before so let's continue and hopefully we can get this on sooner than later."

"We ain't getting any younger," he added.