10 months on from his last fight, heavyweight contender Jermain Franklin will return to action, this on May 23rd. Franklin, who took both Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte the distance in big fights in the UK, has got what pretty much looks like a nice easy one, what with the 30 year old from Saginaw to face Devin Vargas.
Vargas, 22-10, is now 42 years of age and the former Olympic team captain has not won a fight since 2020. Vargas last boxed in July of last year, the same as Franklin, but Devin has lost his last four outings, and six of his last eight. Vargas has boxed in good company, with him facing the likes of Dominic Breazeale, Andy Ruiz, Junior Fa, Zhilei Zhang, and “Prince” Charles Martin, but all these guys beat him, most of them by stoppage.
Who knows how much Vargas has left at age 42, after having been a pro since way back in 2004?
Franklin, 22-2(14) will face Vargas in Detroit, and anything other than a straightforward win would do him no favours, while a loss would be cataclysmic for Franklin. Franklin, who has won one fight since dropping decisions back-to-back to AJ and Whyte, is a good fighter and he still has time to go places. Franklin has shown a good chin, a good engine, and some decent punching power. Quite a few people felt Franklin did enough to beat Whyte, and a rematch, though seemingly unlikely, would be pretty interesting.
Franklin may well get Vargas out of there in quick fashion, or he may decide he wants to bag himself a few rust-removing rounds. Either way, Franklin should win this one with relative ease.
Franklin Vs. Vargas will be televised by DAZN, and the co-feature will see Joshua James Pagan, 9-0(4) going up against fellow unbeaten, Roger Hilley, 13-0(8), with the NABF belt at 140 pounds to be on the line.