BREAKING NEWS: Anthony Joshua Left Early Opponent With Gruesome Cut That Left Eddie Hearn Wincing

Anthony Joshua, who returns to the ring against Jermaine Franklin tonight, left one of his early opponents, veteran Paul Butlin, with an awful cut described as ‘one of the worst ever’ by Eddie Hearn....PROCEED.FULL.READING>>>

Anthony Joshua left one of his early opponents with a cut so gruesome it left even promoter Eddie Hearn wincing...CONTINUE.YOUR.READING

Joshua returns to the ring against Jermaine Franklin tonight aiming to get his career back track after losing three of his last five fights, including back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk. It is 10 years since AJ burst into the professional boxing scene after winning gold as an amateur at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Joshua goes back to where it all started tonight, with London’s O2 providing the venue, as it did for his first fight in the paid ranks against Italian Emanuele Leo.

Joshua had been due to fight veteran Paul Butlin, who turned the fight down because he was getting married. But after AJ disposed of Leo in the first round, Butlin was available for the Olympic champion’s second bout.

And it was no honeymoon for the Leicestershire fighter, who had been in the ring with some high-calibre opponents. To his credit though, Butlin did take the fight past round one, despite taking some severe punishment from Joshua.

Joshua finished the job in the second stanza, with one punch in particular, which split Butlin open just above his left eye, drawing gasps from the Sheffield crowd and sending him to the canvas. Butlin somehow managed to regain his feet and the fight briefly continued before it was mercifully called off by referee Howard Foster.

After the fight, Butlin showed off a picture of the cut and the numerous stitches required to repair it. Hearn who was promoting the fight, tweeted at the time: “One of the worst cuts I’ve seen from a punch.”

Meanwhile, speaking in an interview with Boxing News in 2019, Butlin opened up about Joshua’s punching power.

“I’ve been hit by some big punches and nobody hits harder than Anthony Joshua,” he admitted: “If he hits you on the chin, the fight’s over. Lucas Browne can bang as well, but he isn’t in the same class. Joshua has skills as well.”....CONTINUE.YOUR.READING

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