Russian will fall before the final bell

early but eventually Joshua will nail him and take him out midway or three quarters through the fight. Luke Campbell is the chief support against Yvan Mendy for the interim WBC lightweight title, aiming to avenge his first defeat three years ago. I’ve been so impressed with him since he joined my son Shane’s stable. He’s a spiteful puncher, generating terrific power, but his improvements at close range have been so telling, blocking and slipping, catching and firing, rolling the head and getting his punches off. Mendy is incredibly strong. He has a sturdy chin and walks you down. You can’t allow him to bully you and spray combinations, which is what happened at London’s O2 three years ago. That is where you will see a difference. Not only will Campbell punch the hell out of him from range, he will hurt him on the inside, too. This is the fight that gets Campbell’s career back on track. And he’s champing at the bit.

ANTHONY JOSHUA has had a huge impact on boxing in this country, engaging the casual sports fan as well as the aficionado.

He sets a brilliant example to young fighters. He has the talent and the ambition but ultimately it is about working hard and doing the right things.

He is in the ring at Wembley tonight with a fighter who has twice tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. I have made my zero-tolerance view on this clear in this column many times, but here we are. Joshua came of age against Wladimir Klitschko (above) and is getting progressively better. He is a tremendous puncher with fast hands for a big guy.

Like Joshua, Alexander Povetkin was an Olympic gold medallist at super heavyweight (2004), and also world amateur champion (2003). He has only one defeat as a pro so he is obviously a very good fighter.

He is quick and precise, particularly with his shortrange punches. But at the end of the day he’s old (39) and small, if you can ever be that at 6ft 2in. He lost to Wladimir Klitschko five years ago in Moscow and never hit Klitschko with a decent punch.

In his last fight against David Price in Cardiff in March he was caught and hurt. Of course he went on to win in the fifth but Price, for all his power, is no Joshua. It might be nip and tuck