Jermaine Franklin hopes a change of scenery and trainer will lead to an upset victory against the world\u2019s hottest heavyweight.<\/p>\n
Boxing has a funny way of building bonds between people who, in any other industry, would likely never even cross paths.<\/p>\n
From an outside perspective, it is strange, for instance, to imagine a 32-year-old American moving to the UK \u2013 staying in Luton, of all places \u2013 and developing a relationship with a Londoner in his mid-60s.<\/p>\n
But this, funnily enough, is exactly what has happened.<\/p>\n
The story becomes slightly less peculiar, however, when it is revealed that the American is a heavyweight boxer and the Brit, a renowned coach, often refers to himself as a \u201cheavyweight specialist\u201d.<\/p>\n
The mystery duo, of course, is Jermaine Franklin and Don Charles, who have joined forces ahead of the former\u2019s clash with Moses Itauma in Manchester on March 28, previously January 24 before the Brit suffered a bicep tear in camp.<\/p>\n
When Boxing News initially spoke with Franklin via a Zoom call several weeks ago, the words, \u201cI\u2019m in Luton right now\u201d, came as a considerable surprise.<\/p>\n
Naturally, an attempt was made to dig a little deeper, to at least find out who he had been training with, but the plot only thickened when Franklin gave a rather nebulous response.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, I like to be kind of private with my stuff,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t like to say too much, but we\u2019re at \u2018The Farm\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just then, the word \u2018farm\u2019 arrived as a particularly revealing clue, enough for Boxing News to glean some further information from a credible source.<\/p>\n
And, sure enough, the suspicion of a Franklin-Charles partnership was suddenly confirmed, inspiring a wry smile to appear across this reporter\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like it here; it kind of reminds me of home,\u201d Franklin continues, describing his new surroundings while, at the same time, remaining coy about his linkup with Charles.<\/p>\n
Once again, though, the 6ft 3in contender leaves very little to the imagination, as anyone familiar with Luton would likely be able to picture the type of environment that he calls \u201chome\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up in Michigan was normal, I would say, like how most American kids grow up in an urban community,\u201d Franklin says.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichigan\u2019s a little rough, though; there are probably like five or six cities that are very rough around the edges.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, having to be in that environment, and find my own identity in life, I would say that it helped me become a fighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere I\u2019m from, you can\u2019t back down from a lot of stuff. If you back down, you\u2019ll probably have more problems in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not saying everybody in Michigan is a gangster, or that everybody\u2019s tough, but there\u2019s a lot of people that won\u2019t take no s**t.\u201d<\/p>\n
As you might have already gathered, Franklin is one of those people that certainly \u201cwon\u2019t take no s**t\u201d.<\/p>\n
That much became apparent following his promotional dispute with Dmitry Salita, which contributed to a major news story prior to the boxer\u2019s showdown with Anthony Joshua in 2023.<\/p>\n
Back then, Franklin took legal action against Salita Promotions, alleging unfair contract terms, and eventually found himself in a far more favourable position.<\/p>\n
So now, while not being able to delve into too much detail, the \u2018989 Assassin\u2019 is nonetheless glad to have put that situation behind him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really can\u2019t speak on it, but the business of boxing is just kind of s***ty,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cFighters have more power than what they think, and they need to know that everybody works for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout us, there\u2019s no \u2018everybody else\u2019. A lot of us get pushed to the side and don\u2019t get opportunities, because we don\u2019t want to do something that somebody else wants to do, or we don\u2019t agree with what they\u2019re trying to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a union or some s**t. We need something to keep checks and balances in order.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Having overcome] my situation, I\u2019m so happy now. I can make my own decisions \u2013 I have the freedom of choice \u2013 and the thing I learned is to never let these people talk to you like you have to do something. It\u2019s supposed to be a partnership, where we work together.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re not making decisions [together], then nobody\u2019s making decisions. That\u2019s the big thing about it \u2013 don\u2019t let these people force you into situations that you\u2019re not ready for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now gearing up to face Itauma \u2013 a 21-year-old prodigy widely tipped for world championship glory \u2013 Franklin firmly believes he is well equipped to navigate such an almighty challenge.<\/p>\n
More specifically, a series of not-so-pleasant life experiences have allowed him to view the task through a certain lens, suggesting that his mental fortitude is far from manufactured.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing where I\u2019m from has made me not scared of stuff, which can be a danger hazard in some ways, but I have no fear,\u201d he insists.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the ring, I\u2019m not worried about what they [his opponents] can do, or how they can hurt me. I\u2019ll tell those people to their face: \u2018I\u2019m prepared to die in here. And, if you\u2019re not prepared to do the same, you might wanna choose something else to do.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThat mentality alone never lets me waver or steer away from what I\u2019m here to do. I\u2019m here to fight, so we\u2019re going to fight to the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just feel like we\u2019re warriors in here. What warrior do you know that goes into battle without being prepared to die?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo warrior will ever be able to go to war if he\u2019s scared of the outcome. In this sport, I know what can happen. Not saying that I want it to happen, but I know the dangers of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
While speaking with Franklin, it soon becomes clear that this man has taken his mind to some painfully dark places.<\/p>\n
Perhaps most remarkably, the American learned that his father had passed away just two weeks before his last outing, an upset win over Ivan Dychko in September, but nonetheless remained focused on the task at hand and emerged victorious.<\/p>\n
That Franklin even stepped through the ropes is ultimately testament to his character.<\/p>\n
And now, with Charles in his corner, the sizeable underdog looks to once again upset the odds, this time against a fighter hailed for his dynamic footwork and explosive attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Itauma has] got good feet, but not like everybody praises them to be,\u201d Franklin opines. \u201cHe\u2019s not dancing \u2013 he\u2019s just moving forward and backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo disrespect to him, but I haven\u2019t seen any specialness with his footwork. I can do the same s**t that he does, so I don\u2019t see it as an advantage.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not moving like a damn [Vasily] Lomachenko or something. In my eyes, it\u2019s nothing super-special.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is hardly surprising that Franklin, unlike the rest of us, views his opponent as a vastly inferior version of the man that has been knocking out heavyweights for fun.<\/p>\n
For him, this is merely another opportunity to prove that, when the chips are down, he has what it takes to leap over any hurdles that are placed in front of him.<\/p>\n
Whether he can prove this against an extraordinarily talented youngster in Itauma, however, remains to be seen. But locking himself away on some secret \u201cfarm\u201d, with a not-so secret \u201cheavyweight specialist\u201d, can\u2019t do his chances any harm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jermaine Franklin hopes a change of scenery and trainer will lead to an upset victory against the world\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":["post-530467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}