Anthony Joshua vs Alexander Povetkin: Sky Sports man sends Deontay Wilder message

Those are the thoughts of Sky Sports boxing pundit Johnny Nelson.

Joshua, the WBA, IBF, WBA and IBO World heavyweight champion, will take on Povetkin on September 22.

Povetkin will provide a tough test as he has only lost once in 35 fights.

Boxing fans will likely have to wait until April to see Joshua face Wilder in a unification contest.

And Nelson is convinced that Povetkin can’t be taken lightly as he will pose a serious threat.

“A big thing Povetkin has is experience,” Nelson told Sky Sports.

“Looking good against someone like him is one thing, but quite simply, Povetkin definitely has the capabilities of beating ‘AJ’.

“If Joshua is happy to stay back and box at range, he should have too much, but stand there and go toe-to-toe with him, he is giving Povetkin an even bigger chance of beating him.

“The referee in the Parker fight didn’t give us the chance to see, but Joshua is actually a good fighter on the inside.

“I do think whatever the game-plan [trainer] Rob McCracken comes up with, this is going to be harder than many people imagine.

“I know Wilder was on everybody’s mind, but I can’t see Joshua and his team overlooking this one.

“If he does lose to Povetkin, all that talk, all that back-and-forth, will mean nothing. That makes this an even bigger risk.”