By Keith Idec

Charles Martin doesn’t think Anthony Joshua is ready for what he’ll encounter Saturday night at a sold-out O2 Arena in London.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Martin predicted during a conference call Monday that Joshua will tire early in their scheduled 12-round fight for Martin’s IBF heavyweight title and that he’ll knock out the heavily hyped British contender.

“He’s not ready,” Martin said. “And he’s gonna get tired, like he always do. He’s gonna get tired, thinking he’s gonna go five rounds. He’s gonna get tired and that’s when I’m gonna jump on his head, man, period. I know I’m gonna knock him out.”

The 6-6, 250-pound Joshua has won each of his 15 professional bouts by knockout. Only one of those fights – a seventh-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Dillian Whyte (16-1, 13 KOs) in the seventh round December 12 at O2 Arena – has gone beyond the third round. Just three of Martin’s 24 professional fights have lasted more than four rounds since he turned pro in October 2012, but Martin (23-0-1, 21 KOs) still is certain he is much more prepared for this fight than Joshua, the 2012 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist.

“In that Dillian White fight he got real tired,” said Martin, who’ll make the first defense of the IBF title he won when Vyacheslav Glazkov’s knee injury caused him to lose by third-round TKO on January 16 at Barclays Center. “And he don’t got no footwork, he can’t box. The only thing he’s relying on is his power, and I’ve got more tools than that. I’m more than just a powerful puncher. I can do it all. That’s what I’m taking into the fight – I’ve got more in my arsenal.

“If he thinks he’s gonna be able to land hard punches on me and stuff like that, he’s got another thing coming. I’m very elusive, so we’ll see when it’s time to take care of business.”

The 29-year-old Martin, a southpaw from West Hollywood, California, had 63 amateur fights and has remained very busy during his 3½-year pro career. The 26-year-old Joshua had 43 amateur bouts and also has been very active since making his pro debut in October 2013.

“I’ve got more fights than him in the amateurs and the pros, and overall I’ve got more experience,” Martin said. “That’s what I’m basing this off of. It don’t matter about who you got in the ring with as a professional and fought because experience and getting comfortable is what it’s all about. I don’t feel that he’s comfortable enough in the ring, especially not with me being in the there. When I get in there and start doing the things I do in there, it’s gonna be a different story. It’s gonna be a whole different look.”

Showtime will televise the Martin-Joshua fight live in the United States as part of a broadcast scheduled to start at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.