Detour will not deter Joshua

This was supposed to be the week Anthony Joshua completed his whirlwind boxing journey from Olympic gold medallist to undisputed world heavyweight champion.

Deontay Wilder should have been the opponent, Las Vegas potentially the venue. There was talk of $50 million being on the table. Instead, Joshua has to take a detour.

The 28-year-old is back home in London, ready to fulfil his mandatory obligations by facing Russia’s Alexander Povetkin at Wembley. It’s not the fight he wanted – Wilder, the WBC champion, remains his No 1 priority – but Joshua knows it’s a necessary step toward his goal of unifying the division.

The last time Joshua fought at Wembley, it was in front of 90,000 in 2017 when he beat Wladimir Klitschko to become boxing’s new superstar virtually overnight.

“I feel relaxed and calm,” said Joshua, the IBF, WBO and WBA titleholder. “It’s not new to me anymore. I feel like this is home, where I’m going to perform.”

This will be his fifth straight stadium fight, with more than 300,000 spectators watching his last four. Povetkin is not used to fighting in such an atmosphere but, at the age of 39, he has plenty experience.

Like Joshua, Povetkin is an Olympic champion – at super heavyweight in the 2004 Athens Games – and was the WBA’S “regular” championfrom2011-13.his only loss in 35 fights came against Klitschko in 2013.

More recently, he made headlines for testing positive for performanceenhancing drugs twice in a seven-month period in 2016. It stalled his career but he has won eight straight fights.

Joshua said Povetkin is “definitely” his second-hardest fight after Klitschko. It is a dangerous 23rd professional bout for Joshua, who has been pushed into the shadows somewhat in recent weeks with Wilder agreeing to a fight against Tyson Fury in the coming weeks. A big knockout will be a timely reminder of who the box office draw is in the sport’s most glamorous division.