Anthony Joshua will return to the boxing ring on April 1 when he faces Jermaine Franklin in a heavyweight fight in London.

Joshua last fought August last year when he failed to reclaim his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight belts against Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian had earlier defeated Joshua in 2021.

According to Sky Sports, Joshua and Franklin have already agreed terms for the fight and both boxers are expected to head to head at a press conference next week.

Joshua parted ways with trainer Rob McCracken after his first loss to Usyk and linked up Robert Garcia for the second contest.

The Briton, however, is expected to announce another new training for the Franklin fight.

The London 2012 Olympic gold medallist is now at a critical stage in his career and looking to rebuild with his first victory since beating Kubrat Pulev in 2020.

He will now take on Franklin, an American who is also coming in off a loss.

Olympic silver medallist Richard Torrez said the fight is a “must win” for Joshua.

“I am interested to see Joshua. I’m interested to see how he comes back,” Torrez told Sky Sports.

“How he comes at the fight stylistically. If he chooses to be the boxer Joshua, I think it’s going to be a really good fight. Or if he tries to just sit down and throw or just kind of muscle something.

“It really comes down to Joshua now. I don’t think it’s going to be a fight between two people. It’s going to be a fight between Joshua and himself. If he comes out there and he does what he’s supposed to do and he has the gameplan necessary, I think he’ll take the fight. And if not, it’s all up to him.”