Ricky Hatton has offered encouragement to Anthony Joshua and has advised his countryman to target a fight with Deontay Wilder.
The 2012 Olympic gold medallist is ready to rebuild his career following two consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk and his next fight is almost certain to take place in the first third of 2023.
Despite the double setback against Usyk, Joshua still holds serious aspirations of becoming world heavyweight champion for a third time.
Due to his high profile and championship credentials, Joshua is very much still in the mix at the heavyweight division's business end, and Hatton believes he should look for a long-awaited showdown with Wilder.
“I'd have a little bit of a rebuilding fight to get his confidence, and no-one should complain about it,” said Hatton when speaking to Mega Casino.
“He's lost his last two fights against Usyk, which is no shame whatsoever. Another factor is how hard he took the defeat where we grabbed the mic, and he took the belts out the ring and everything like that.
“So, obviously it affected him hard. So, don't chuck him in at the deep end again. Give him someone a bit of a token, you know what I mean? And then go in for the Wilder fight.”