Jermaine Franklin hopes a change of scenery and trainer will lead to an upset victory against the world’s hottest heavyweight.
Boxing has a funny way of building bonds between people who, in any other industry, would likely never even cross paths.
From an outside perspective, it is strange, for instance, to imagine a 32-year-old American moving to the UK – staying in Luton, of all places – and developing a relationship with a Londoner in his mid-60s.
But this, funnily enough, is exactly what has happened.
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 “heavyweight specialist”.
The mystery duo, of course, is Jermaine Franklin and Don Charles, who have joined forces ahead of the former’s clash with Moses Itauma in Manchester on March 28, previously January 24 before the Brit suffered a bicep tear in camp.
When Boxing News initially spoke with Franklin via a Zoom call several weeks ago, the words, “I’m in Luton right now”, came as a considerable surprise.
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.
“You know, I like to be kind of private with my stuff,” he says. “I don’t like to say too much, but we’re at ‘The Farm’.”
Just then, the word ‘farm’ arrived as a particularly revealing clue, enough for Boxing News to glean some further information from a credible source.
And, sure enough, the suspicion of a Franklin-Charles partnership was suddenly confirmed, inspiring a wry smile to appear across this reporter’s face.
“I like it here; it kind of reminds me of home,” Franklin continues, describing his new surroundings while, at the same time, remaining coy about his linkup with Charles.
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 “home”.
“Growing up in Michigan was normal, I would say, like how most American kids grow up in an urban community,” Franklin says.
“Michigan’s a little rough, though; there are probably like five or six cities that are very rough around the edges.
“So, having to be in that environment, and find my own identity in life, I would say that it helped me become a fighter.
“Where I’m from, you can’t back down from a lot of stuff. If you back down, you’ll probably have more problems in the future.
“I’m not saying everybody in Michigan is a gangster, or that everybody’s tough, but there’s a lot of people that won’t take no s**t.”
As you might have already gathered, Franklin is one of those people that certainly “won’t take no s**t”.
That much became apparent following his promotional dispute with Dmitry Salita, which contributed to a major news story prior to the boxer’s showdown with Anthony Joshua in 2023.
Back then, Franklin took legal action against Salita Promotions, alleging unfair contract terms, and eventually found himself in a far more favourable position.
So now, while not being able to delve into too much detail, the ‘989 Assassin’ is nonetheless glad to have put that situation behind him.
“I really can’t speak on it, but the business of boxing is just kind of s***ty,” he says.
“Fighters have more power than what they think, and they need to know that everybody works for them.
“Without us, there’s no ‘everybody else’. A lot of us get pushed to the side and don’t get opportunities, because we don’t want to do something that somebody else wants to do, or we don’t agree with what they’re trying to do.
“We need a union or some s**t. We need something to keep checks and balances in order.
“[Having overcome] my situation, I’m so happy now. I can make my own decisions – I have the freedom of choice – and the thing I learned is to never let these people talk to you like you have to do something. It’s supposed to be a partnership, where we work together.
“If we’re not making decisions [together], then nobody’s making decisions. That’s the big thing about it – don’t let these people force you into situations that you’re not ready for.”
Now gearing up to face Itauma – a 21-year-old prodigy widely tipped for world championship glory – Franklin firmly believes he is well equipped to navigate such an almighty challenge.
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.
“Being where I’m from has made me not scared of stuff, which can be a danger hazard in some ways, but I have no fear,” he insists.
“In the ring, I’m not worried about what they [his opponents] can do, or how they can hurt me. I’ll tell those people to their face: ‘I’m prepared to die in here. And, if you’re not prepared to do the same, you might wanna choose something else to do.’
“That mentality alone never lets me waver or steer away from what I’m here to do. I’m here to fight, so we’re going to fight to the end.
“I just feel like we’re warriors in here. What warrior do you know that goes into battle without being prepared to die?
“No warrior will ever be able to go to war if he’s 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.”
While speaking with Franklin, it soon becomes clear that this man has taken his mind to some painfully dark places.
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.
That Franklin even stepped through the ropes is ultimately testament to his character.
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.
“[Itauma has] got good feet, but not like everybody praises them to be,” Franklin opines. “He’s not dancing – he’s just moving forward and backward.
“No disrespect to him, but I haven’t seen any specialness with his footwork. I can do the same s**t that he does, so I don’t see it as an advantage.
“He’s not moving like a damn [Vasily] Lomachenko or something. In my eyes, it’s nothing super-special.”
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.
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.
Whether he can prove this against an extraordinarily talented youngster in Itauma, however, remains to be seen. But locking himself away on some secret “farm”, with a not-so secret “heavyweight specialist”, can’t do his chances any harm.