Anthony Joshua wants to cement his legacy in heavyweight boxing in "chapter two" of his career, starting with his fight against Alexander Povetkin.
Deontay Wilder has long been negotiating with Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn, while Jarrell Miller confronted the British boxer at a DAZN media event in New York on Tuesday, but a mandatory bout with Povetkin is up first at Wembley on September 22.
IBF, WBA, IBO and WBO champion Joshua (21-0) is happy to take on the Russian, though, as he targets another decade of dominance in the sport.
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Joshua, who burst into the public eye with his gold medal in the super-heavyweight division of the 2012 Olympic Games, views his plan to become part of boxing folklore as similar to surviving a tournament set-up.
"I feel like, right now, I'm back in a tournament stage, where I have to get through Povetkin and I have to get through Wilder and I have to get through who's next in order to create this legacy," he added.
Povetkin has a sketchy past. A past that concerns some of Joshua's fans.
While the once-beaten fighter is a former champion and also an Olympic gold medal winner - he also failed drug tests in 2016, which forced the cancellation of two separate fights - against Deontay Wilder and Bermane Stiverne.
“If I missed a drugs test or am an hour late then people will say 'oh, he must have been doping.' But I know I would never be able to box again because I would be made an example of. I have been tested twice already for this fight. I would rather take a loss than be done for doping, being done for doping is far worse for your legacy than taking a loss," Joshua said.
“I don't see doping as a way of making yourself better, if a person is better than you then work harder, train harder, you don't need to dope. Weigh it up; doping, being banned, legacy damaged or someone is better than you on the night, give them the respect and bounce back. I would rather stay clean and give it my best every time.
“When he is fighting it me it will be a straight and clean fight. His past is his and past and they dealt with it however they did. If I got done for doping - it would never happen - then they would deal with me.”
