Anthony Joshua's in the final stretch of preparations before Friday's fight against Francis Ngannou, live worldwide on DAZN, and the general consensus is that a victory for "AJ" will put him atop the list of world heavyweight title challengers.
The belts are currently held by two men — Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk — who will square off in May to determine an undisputed champion.
Joshua already has experience in the ring agasinst Usyk, who defeated the Briton on back-to-back occasions in 2021 and 2022, but he has yet to face his countryman Fury in a professional bout.
As his own fight with Ngannou inches nearer, Joshua cannot help being drawn into the Fury-Usyk narrative.
With everyone in the boxing world giving their predictions for Fury vs. Usyk, Joshua was asked to add his voice to the growing chorus of opinions, and the 34-year-old was hesitant to publicly choose a winner.
"I don't want to say, I feel like everybody's going to be asking me about Fury-Usyk," Joshua said on DAZN's Off The Cuff.
While he's keeping his prediction close to his chest, Joshua does have a clear preference for whom he'd like to face in a potential future bout.
"I don't want to sound like a hater," Joshua said when asked who he'd prefer to step into the ring with, before choosing Fury.
"I don't really respect Fury because of all the things he says," Joshua explained. "Fury says a lot yeah, so that's why I want him to get his jaw cracked."
Live on DAZN PPV: Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou on March 8. Click here for details and how to purchase.