Exclusive: Joshua Frankham - Interview
- Shinfield News
- Sep 16
- 8 min read
Joshua Frankham may share a famous surname with some of Britain’s most celebrated fighting families, but the 24-year-old super-welterweight is determined to build his own legacy inside the ropes.
Born in Berkshire on 29 March 1999, Frankham grew up surrounded by boxing. His friend is none other than heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury, and his uncle Johnny “Gypsy” Frankham once held the British light-heavyweight crown. Another uncle even stepped into the ring with Muhammad Ali. With that pedigree, it was almost inevitable that Joshua would lace up the gloves.
By his teens, he was already making waves on the amateur scene. Frankham collected four national titles, represented England, and won 31 of his 37 amateur bouts. A call-up to the Team GB squad hinted at even bigger opportunities, but his progress was stalled by a bout of glandular fever that kept him out of the ring for six months.
The setback didn’t dampen his ambition. In 2020, Frankham turned professional under Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, training with Wayne Batten in Southampton. His professional debut came on September 12, 2020, and since then he has remained unbeaten, building an 11-0 record with two knockouts.
While his famous friend offered encouragement — even sending Warren a message of endorsement — Frankham is determined to make his own mark. “I don’t just want to be known as Tyson’s friend,” he has said. “I want to win titles in my own right.”
Ambition fuels him. Frankham dreams of one day topping the bill at Reading FC’s Select Car Leasing Stadium, just a mile from where he grew up and where he has held a season ticket for years. His ultimate goal: to win the British title once worn by his uncle, and then chase international and world honours.
For now, the young fighter continues to impress with his sharp boxing skills and relentless work ethic. Though not yet known for knockout power, his discipline and technical approach have carried him to a spotless record — and made him one of the most promising prospects in British boxing.
With bloodlines steeped in fighting tradition, yet a hunger to stand apart, Joshua Frankham is more than a name to watch. He is a fighter determined to write his own story in the sport.
However, an exclusive interview with Josh has uncovered a battle outside of the ropes that fans around the world have not been made aware of.
"I have been diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Virus" The young star explained "and it turned into chronic fatigue. I have the exact same thing as Mark Cavendish. So I'm sort of on a similar path to his at the minute because he had a big downfall".
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a very common viral infection that spreads through saliva and body fluids. EBV is a type of herpesvirus called herpesvirus 4. Most cases of EBV don’t cause symptoms. Other cases, especially in adolescents and young adults, can lead to infectious mononucleosis.
Once you get EBV, the infection stays within your body for your entire life in a dormant state where it's inactive or sleeping. You can reactivate the virus and experience symptoms again, regardless of when you first acquired the virus.
Symptoms range in severity for each person diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus. Symptoms include: Sore throat and throat inflammation (swelling), Fatigue or feeling extremely tired, Fever, Swollen lymph nodes (a bean-shaped organ in your neck), Rashes on your skin, and
Enlarged spleen and liver.
Josh spoke further on Mark's condition that he now suffers from, "He was on top of the world as a Cyclist and all of a sudden he sort of crashed down and he was last. He couldn't make the times and people were saying he's finished or something up with him. And obviously it was this chronic fatigue what was attacking him and he didn't know it. And he came back, and I believe he won Tour de France again, some sort of stage. That's a similar sort of thing I'm on at the minute. I've actually been to Mexico. I've had some stem cell treatment done. And I'm in a big recovery, trying to get back, and sort of a road to recovery as well, So that's what we're obviously in. Everyone's always asking me, when are you back out? When's your next fight"?
"And I'm hoping to get back out next year. I had it for three years, didn't know I had it. I actually boxed with it. One of my biggest fights with it, I boxed with a fella called George Davey. We was both undefeated at the time. and no one actually knew I had it, I didn't know I had it, but I just kept getting tired and fatigued all the time. So basically, through my last two or three years of boxing, I've only really been 30-40% of my actual self, and I've still won these fights. When I've spoke to people about it, like even Mark Cavendish, he said, I don't know how you've done it, what you've done was unbelievable to get through with what you were suffering from, and it finally got to the stage where my body just wouldn't let me do what I wanted to do anymore".
"Like my last two fights I had, I was cutting back on training and just trying to get through camp, and with chronic fatigue because my symptoms are obviously training. So like just doing a basic bit of shadow boxing, I couldn't lift my arms up. It was like I felt heavy, you know, I was always tired. No matter what I eat or what coffee I had, I was always tired. Training should have been easy for me. It was hard, you know? Sleepless nights, not really slept right for the last year or so. That has a big effect on an athlete. I get hot and cold flushes and sweats. It's horrible. It really is horrible. They say there's no recovery, they say there's no solutions, but I looked on it myself and I went out to Mexico, Tijuana, and I got hold of the best company you can. Joe Rogan talks about them".
"They're called CPI. And I had a stem cell transplant. And now hopefully it's just beginning to pick up with a little bit of luck. I'm starting to feel better. When you say to people, it was horrible, like when I'd say to my parents and my brother, there's just something wrong with me, they were just saying, just push through it, you know what I mean? I was under Oxford, I was under John Radcliffe, one of the best hospitals in England. And their sort of thing of it is an imaginary disease, just push through and get a sports psychologist, you know? Hey, they didn't see anything wrong. Never heard of these symptoms. But it's until you speak to other athletes, like Mark Cavendish, he helped me a lot and he suffered the exact same thing. And now they've just proven that it is a real, chronic fatigue syndrome is a real thing".
"I think it was Edinburgh or Glasgow, one of them. I've just come out of a big massive study about it. And it's all down to genes and genetics. It actually is a real thing. So it's been hard. It's been hard. I've been boxing since I've been 12 years old. And from training every day to doing nothing for six months is, It's been big on my mental health, to be honest with you. Doing something every day and having it taken away from you, and you can't do anything about it. It's not just my career, though. It's my life. Yeah. When you're used to doing something every day, and training, and the highs of boxing, it's a big impact. I mean, we saw it over the weekend with Ricky Hatton. It's a big impact".
"When you stop, and you stop them highs, and it sort of comes to an end, which for me, I'm only young, and I haven't had half the career Ricky had. But it's just, it's a big impact. I always believe. I'm a big believer of God. I'm a big Christian. I always believe. that what is meant to be is meant to be. If I'm meant to box again, then I shall. And if I'm not meant to box again, it's just part of God's plan. But I do believe every day that I can get back into the ring. I'm starting to feel better. The people I had to train them with, they've helped people with this same condition and they've got back, not just boxing, but they've got back through like taekwondo and things like that".
"So I'm just, I'm praying every day and just hoping I can get back. My Family, My brother, support me obviously, and my partner, they came out with me to America and into Mexico we went. They supported me all the way through. I'd like to thank CPI as well because they sponsored me with the treatment. It was a lot of money. So I'm very thankful. I tried this in my last two fights, I wasn't 100%. You don't have good results, obviously I didn't look good and people probably have a lot to say about it, but they don't know what goes on behind closed doors. So then I thought to myself, I can't do this anymore. I can't go in the ring at 50, 60%".
"You're not just playing tiddlywinks, they just want me to recover and not to come back unless I'm fully 100 percent. And that's all you can do. I've got a lot of friends in boxing. I still go and support them. Maybe even looking down the avenue of being a trainer, I don't know. I like to think I'm very knowledgeable about boxing and I know a lot about it. But it's just a path I've got to get to. And, you know, I'm still young".
"I've still got plenty of time. I believe I would have been at least good enough to go on and win a British title, at least. It's hard when you think about it in that way. I'm just a little bit disappointed at the minute, but I'm sure we'll get there. I haven't trained for about six months, which is very unlike me. Even when I'm not in camp, I'm still in the gym. I'm still running, I'm still doing weights, I'm still in the boxing gym, which has been hard for me. But I'm just trying to recover. I've been having things like the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, which has been sponsored to me by, I think it's Simply Oxygen over at Sunnydale. They helped me out. I've been having ozone treatment. I've been having everything you can imagine, just trying to get back into there. Just trying to get back healthy".
"I still have a lot of sponsors. At the minute, I'm surviving on those. That's what's keeping me going financially. But I should be back by next year by March. Which at the minute, it is going well. Recovery is going well. So I'm aiming for March".
Comments