It’s poised to be a fantastic year for British boxing.

Anthony Joshua goes head-to-head against Joseph Parker in Cardiff on March 31, Tony Bellew and David Haye will finally have their rematch at the O2 Arena on May 5, Tyson Fury is set to make his long-awaited return to action, and so too is Amir Khan.

Throw in the likes of Daniel Dubois and Anthony Yarde and 2018 could end up being the best year in British boxing for a long time.

However, there’s one British fighter who stands head and shoulders above his compatriots in terms of star quality right now - and that is, of course, Joshua.

The 28-year-old is British boxing’s golden boy. A fearsome heavyweight inside the ring and a gentleman off it.

AJ has won all 20 of his fights to date. In 2017 he recorded two victories, one over the legendary Wladimir Klitschko and the other over Carlos Takam.

Parker is expected to provide a tougher test than Takam, who put up a decent fight in Cardiff back in October, but Joshua is still fancied to add the WBO belt to his IBF and WBA titles.

Fury would love to have a crack at Joshua after Parker and firmly believe he has what it takes to beat the 2012 Olympic gold medalist.

Bellew: Joshua is the motivation for every heavyweight

Bellew, meanwhile, can understand why Fury and every other heavyweight wants to fight Joshua.

“Joshua is the motivation for every heavyweight in the division,” the Liverpudlian said in his latest Metro column. “There’s no denying it. Joshua is now generating a freakish amount of money. He’s a promoter’s dream and he brings everything to the table.”

Bellew sums up Joshua in seven words

Bellew then perfectly summed up Joshua in just seven words…

“He’s 2018’s Mike Tyson – without the controversy.”

Bellew explains why this is the case

Allow him to explain…

“I’m not saying he is Mike Tyson,” Bellew added, “but he’s this generation’s standard. He’s the perfect role model and everyone wants a piece of him, because you will make millions off him. These heavyweights, your Deontay Wilders, your Tyson Furys, can’t make millions of pounds facing each other.”

Ain’t that the truth.

Big year ahead for Joshua

Joshua is one of the biggest sports stars in Britain right now and his reputation, you suspect, will continue to grow exponentially over the course of 2018.

Do you agree with Tony Bellew: is Anthony Joshua the 2018 equivalent of Mike Tyson? Have your say by leaving a comment below.