Anthony Joshua at career-heaviest for comeback fight as Jermaine Franklin sheds the pounds

Anthony Joshua will be at his career-heaviest weight for Saturday night’s much-anticipated comeback fight against Jermaine Franklin in London.

The two-time world heavyweight champion tipped the scales at Friday’s weigh-in at Westfield at 255.4lbs (18st 2lbs), 11lbs heavier than he was for his rematch defeat by Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia last August.

It eclipses Joshua’s previous heaviest mark as a professional of 254lbs, which he weighed for a gruelling 10th-round stoppage of late replacement opponent Carlos Takam in Cardiff back in 2017.

The Briton had not weighed more than 247lbs since then, having gone down to 237lbs for his successful rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 and stayed around 240lbs for his win over Kubrat Pulev and first defeat by Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2021.

Such a significant jump in weight will only serve to increase predictions of an emphatic knockout from Joshua in the first half of Saturday’s bout as he bids to make a powerful statement on his return to the ring, proving he remains a genuine title contender in boxing’s blue-riband division and still worthy of a potential blockbuster showdown with reigning WBC champion Tyson Fury.

However, it could also provoke familiar questions about his conditioning and ability to maintain stamina late on in fights if the main event at the O2 Arena goes into the final rounds.

“How am I feeling approaching this fight? I’ve got my gameplan, I’ve got my mind right. I’m ready to go to war,” said Joshua, who has staged his camp in Dallas with new trainer Derrick James.

“I know I’ve got the possibility of a knockout, 100 per cent. But there’s a process to get there. I just follow my process, pray to God and what will be, will be.”

Franklin, meanwhile, weighed in at 234.1lbs (16st 7lbs) on Friday, a full 23lbs lighter than he was for a close points defeat by Joshua’s arch-rival Dillian Whyte on his last trip to the UK in November.

The American said of Joshua’s weight: “He probably bulked up a little bit, but we’re ready for whatever. We’ve got a chin of steel so I’m not worried too much about power. He’s still got to be able to touch me with it.”