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® world titles and faces Wladimir Klitschko to add the WBA strap to his IBF belt at Wembley tonight.

But Lewis says had he been in charge, he would have matched Joshua with much harder opposition in preparation for such a defining fight. The 51-year-old said: “I would have guided him differently, maybe with tougher fights.

“I went up step-by-step even to a degree where people were saying that it was too early for me to fight Gary Mason but I had prepared for him.

“Dillian Whyte has been Joshua’s toughest so far. He had to get that fight under his belt because this is the guy who called him a chicken – so he had to straighten him out.

“Now it is a big leap to go after Wlad but then there are still questions that remain... how much has Wlad got left? How much of the true Wlad is left or have we not seen the best?

Massive

“Maybe this fight might bring out the best of Wlad. This a massive bout, especially for AJ – the first time he has boxed in front of so many people.”

But all-time great Lewis insists he has no hard feelings over Joshua’s decision.

He added: “When we met I said that the training was more important than going after the money. He had his mind set on what he wanted to do – it is his life and he has every right to choose which way he wanted to go.”

Lewis won the world title three times and became Britain’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1899 when he beat Evander Holyfield a century later.

He hung up the gloves at 38 with a record of 41-2-1. Now Lewis reckons Klitschko may join him in the pipe and slippers club regardless of how he fares at Wembley tonight.

“Could this be Wlad’s last fight? Yeah,” Lewis said. “He has been fighting because he wants to be undisputed but now the chance to be undisputed has gone even further away.

“He is up to nearly 70 fights, I was undisputed aged 38. He’s 41, it’s going to be difficult.

“Maybe he can’t go out as undisputed but he can go out with a win.”