By Edward Chaykovsky
IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (16-0, 16KOs) is already a superstar in the UK, with arenas being sold out within an hour, and generating high pay-per-view buyrates.
The Olympic gold medal winner has already made moves to branch out his name and build a worldwide following. He signed a multi-fight deal with Showtime, who will exclusive showcase his fights in the United States.
Joshua makes the first defense of his title against unbeaten challenger Dominic Breazeale (17-0, 15KOs) on June 25 live on Sky Sports Box Office. The fight takes place at London's O2 Arena.
There are big fights for Joshua on the horizon, should he beat Breazeale. One of those fights is a massive showdown in the United States with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (36-0, 35KOs), who likely returns next month against Chris Arreola.
If the opportunity presented itself for a Wilder clash, Joshua would jump on the opportunity. He wants to follow in the footsteps of Ricky Hatton, who saw thousands of British fans travel over to support his fights on American soil.
He exclusively told Sky Sports: "The two things I hear: when are you fighting Tyson Fury? And when are going to Vegas? When I look at Ricky Hatton, he was unbelievable taking thousands and thousands of people over to America."
"So if the opportunity comes, and it works for everyone, 100 percent [I will fight in Vegas]. This isn't about country versus country, this is about being global and being worldwide. So we're just trying to make everyone aware of what we're doing."
