Anthony Joshua reveals where Alexander Povetkin ranks in toughest opponents – press conference as it happened

Anthony Joshua faces a gruelling test against Alexander Povetkin, with the two Olympic champions going head to head at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night

Anthony Joshua speaks to the media ahead of the bout (Getty Images)

Before he can think about targeting Deontay Wilder’s WBC belt to complete his collection, Anthony Joshua must face a gruelling test against WBA mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin, with the two Olympic champions going head to head at Wembley Stadium.

Many had expected Joshua to take on Wilder after defeating Joseph Parker in March, but instead he will defend his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles against Russia’s Povetkin.

It will be a stern test. Povetkin has lost just one of his 35 fights, losing on points to the great Wladimir Klitschko in October 2013. Since then he has won eight consecutive fights, including a knockout victory over David Price on the Joshua-Parker undercard. Ominously, he has never been stopped.

Meanwhile Joshua will be looking to extend his flawless professional record to 22-0 in his third fight at Wembley Stadium. Follow the press conference below:

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[20 September 2018 13:19 · Adam Hamdani]

A friendly greeting between the two men who will be looking to knock each other out this weekend.

Anthony Joshua and Alexander Povetkin shake hands 

[20 September 2018 13:21 · Adam Hamdani]

Alexander Povetkin on how he'll expose Anthony Joshua's strengths

"The fight will show everything. Anthony is a very strong fighter but I am just as strong. Saturday fight night will show everything. When I fought Klitschko, I was much weaker and in worse shape than I am now."

[20 September 2018 13:22 · Adam Hamdani]

Alexander Povetkin on what will happen Saturday night

"I really, really want to take these belts home. I never try to predict anything ahead of time, you will see everything fight night."

Keeping it short and sweet, well his translator is anyway.

[20 September 2018 13:27 · Adam Hamdani]

"It's been so pleasant that we hope we can do the rematch - even a third one hopefully. This is the biggest fight in the super heavyweight division today. I think both these guys know what they're in for no matter how easy they present themselves."

World of Boxing, Povetkin's promoter, is seeing this as a trilogy. If a promoter says he's excited for a rematch, does that mean he's expecting his man to lose...? Odd.

[20 September 2018 13:29 · Adam Hamdani]

Rob McCracken, Anthony Joshua's promoter speaks

"Povetkin is the mandatory. Without these types of fights, boxing suffers. It's going to be a tremendous fight, both fighters are in great shape - certainly Anthony is. Povetkin comes from the top tier of boxing. Joshua has trained long, hard and diligently for this fight. He's ready and has some rest before the fight. He's going to be great Saturday night."

Rob McCracken speaks 

[20 September 2018 13:31 · Adam Hamdani]

Anthony Joshua on pressure

"Loads of pressure. Tons of pressure. That's the reality of it. What more can I do but give it my best? I'll roll with the punches. I joined the right team, right management and you've [Eddie Hearn] put me in the right fights. I've got a lot of fire in my belly, which is just as important as skill. Thousands of tickets sold, there's going to be a lot of buys, I can't wait."

[20 September 2018 13:32 · Adam Hamdani]

The talking is over, the head to head is happening right now (we'll have some pictures of it as soon as they come in).

All that's left is the weigh-in on Friday and then it's fight night!

[20 September 2018 13:40 · Adam Hamdani]

No trash talk, no real communication between the two (because of the whole language barrier thing), just professional boxing.

Anthony Joshua, speaking after the press conference says his ideal weight is "112kg". He's ready for a "game, lively fighter. He doesn't stop for 12 rounds, I need to go to work to get the win."

Respectful between the pair 

[20 September 2018 13:42 · Adam Hamdani]

And that's all she wrote. We move onto tomorrow's weigh-in, which we'll have live coverage of so make sure you stay tuned for that.

Until then, have a read of this piece by Tom Kershaw on what the mismatch tells us about boxing's promotional Cold War.