Anthony Joshua calls out Tyson Fury after his win over Jermaine Franklin | boxing news

Anthony Joshua has called out Tyson Fury and confirmed he will fight again this summer as he marked his return to the ring with a unanimous decision win over Jermaine Franklin on Saturday night.

The former two-time world heavyweight champion looked understandably nervous but largely dominated the proceedings against a tough Franklin in what marked his first outing since losing his rematch to Oleksandr Usyk last August.

It marked the start of what has been seen as a new chapter for Joshua as he seeks to re-establish himself among the world title-holding heavyweights.

He wasted no time after the final bell to reiterate his interest in an all-British showdown against Tyson Fury.

“I’m trying to support the fans, I know who the fans want — who the fans want? They said Fury, yeah? The ball is in his court,” Joshua said on DAZN.

“I would be 100% honored to compete for the WBC world championship.

“I stand here and say it proudly, it would be an honor.

“Wherever you are, if you’re listening, you know my direction, you know my promoter, we’ve had a dialogue before, so let’s keep going and hopefully we can do it as soon as possible. We’re not getting any younger.

“I can’t wait to get back to Texas and grow and keep going because there’s a bigger fight, you know how one fight leads to another, I can’t wait to have the next big fight.”

Questions continue to hang over the heavyweight division as a whole in light of talk of a possible undisputed matchup between Fury and downed Usyk. While Joe Joyce has emerged as a potential opponent for Fury, Usyk is apparently heading for a meeting with WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois.

As well as Fury, Joshua has also been linked with another fight against former rival Dillian Whyte, who was on hand to watch the Olympic champion in London on Saturday night, as well as Deontay Wilder, who notably rocketed to WBA No. . weekend ranking.