Anthony Joshua warns Deontay Wilder that American's legacy rests on their potential showdown

Joshua has Wembley booked for a fight in April and wants Wilder to be his opponent

Anthony Joshua, who believes Deontay Wilder has only ‘two or three’ years left in him, has warned the WBC champion that his entire legacy rests on their potential transatlantic battle.

Joshua got back to his brutal best in the seventh round of Saturday’s encounter with dangerous Russian Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium to move to 22-0 with 21 KOs.

Talk immediately turned to his next fight, with the national stadium already booked out for April 13. Undefeated puncher Wilder remains the obvious target but his scheduled December 1 clash with Tyson Fury has muddied those waters.

Now Joshua has told the American that the clock is ticking on his chances to establish a legacy in the sport.

“I don’t think he wants to avoid me for too long because he’s getting towards the end of his career,” Joshua said.

“What age is he? 34? What has he got left? Two or three years? This payday is his legacy.

“Fighters aren’t just about their talent anymore. They have seen what’s happening on this side of the pond. They’re talented and they fight with hunger. They think if they can beat me, the whole game changes.

“If it’s Dillian [Whyte], Fury, Wilder, [Luis] Ortiz, [Jarrell] Miller. I’m the target. I can’t be bothered to be worried about Wilder, Wilder, Wilder. If he wants it then lets get it on.

Anthony Joshua knocked out Alexander Povetkin in the seventh round (REUTERS)

“It will happen sooner or later for sure. That fight will happen. We’ll find out who the best is sooner or later.”

In fact, Wilder is four years older than Joshua at 32 and has developed the reputation as perhaps the biggest one-punch man in the sport as a result of 39 inside-distance wins out of 40.

But should he lose to Fury on December 1, a rematch would be almost guaranteed meaning a Joshua clash at the national stadium in the spring would be impossible.

A Wilder victory over Fury, however, would open the door to a meeting with AJ. But the two camps have such a strained relationship after months of fruitless negotiations that there is no guarantee they would come to an agreement anyway.

Tyson Fury will fight Deontay Wilder in December (Getty)

What appears most likely for April 13 is a rematch between Joshua and Dillian Whyte, who has rebuilt since he was stopped by his fellow Londoner a couple of weeks before Christmas in 2015.

But unbeaten AJ, has warned the whole division that he will only get better as a result of the experience banked against Povetkin.

He said: “I dealt with a puncher. I didn’t think Povetkin was a puncher at first, I thought ‘15 stone? This guy isn’t going to do shit’.

“Then he hit me with that left hook and it was ‘Oh my god, hang on!’. He bucked up my ideas quick.

“I’m a little bit more seasoned, but not quite where I need to be yet. I haven’t found that perfect style but it is working at the minute.

“Someone asked if it is my vulnerability that makes things exciting, yeah for sure because I’m still learning but I’m still good enough to get the outcome I want as well.

“I always think about that one punch. Nobody can beat me skill for skill I don’t think. It’s just that one punch, I’d hate for that to be the reason I lose. That’s what they’re all looking for.”

Although all three judges had WBA, WBO and IBF champion Joshua ahead when referee Steve Gray waved off the contest after 1:59 of the seventh, that did not necessarily tell the story of a tough opening six rounds for the defending champion.

Anthony Joshua recovered after a tricky start (Getty Images)

The nose that was broken by Carlos Takam 11 months ago suffered more damage when Povetkin clipped it with a left hook at the end of the first round. In fact, the visitor seemed to have worked his way into the lead by the time Joshua pummelled his latest mandatory challenger into defeat.

And Joshua revealed he went into Saturday’s encounter suffering the after effects of illness picked up during training camp, which may have explained his unusually sluggish start.

He said: “I’ve been ill this last week and you know when you start thinking to yourself ‘these signs are bad’? But I pulled through.

“It hit me last week Friday. I had it over the weekend and I thought by Wednesday it would be gone. I had a head cold. That’s why I was thinking ‘fuck, if this guy catches me with a sweet shot... I felt like a heavy gust of wind could knock me over.

“I felt everything. In the car on my way here, I was thinking ‘I can have one more sleep’. I thought to myself that I’ve been through this feeling a million times in training camp and still sparred 15 good rounds, so I’ve got one geezer in the ring who will fade sooner or later.”

Promoter Eddie Hearn, meanwhile, plans to reignite negotiations with Team Wilder regarding an April 13 encounter immediately, in case the WBC champion beats Fury and is therefore available to fight.

Hearn and Joshua knocked back a $50m offer from Wilder’s team earlier this year as they were concerned about the legitimacy of the deal. Wilder then appeared to accept terms on a $15m offer from Hearn but when he decided against signing the contract, talks ground to a halt.

Hearn said: “In terms of April, Wilder must win against Fury if that’s going to happen.

“But we’re not willing to wait until December – a deal must be in place well in advance of that subject to him winning that bout.

“The [$50m] offer they made initially, and they were scraping around trying to find people to put that money together, will look like absolute peanuts when this fight is made. But you have to keep winning.

“Joshua-Wilder could be one of the biggest fights in all-time boxing history. It would definitely be the biggest fight in British boxing history because it would eclipse Joshua-Klitschko.”