The elder brother of former Anthony Joshua victim Wladimir Klitschko has aired his thoughts on a potential super-fight between the British megastar and American WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

Negotiations between the two heavyweight belt-holders have been decidedly tortuous, with offer met by counter-offer at every turn, and discussions between the parties representing the two boxers appearing to be at an all-time low.

Reports suggest that Joshua is prepared to ditch a fight with Wilder in favour of his WBA mandatory Alexander Povetkin.

The experienced Russian last graced the ring when he brutally knocked out British journeyman David Price in March of this year.

Regarding the highly anticipated Joshua/Wilder fight, Vitali told the Guardian: “The question always when there are many world champions is: who is the strongest one?

"That’s why to fight Wilder is very good. Right now, Joshua is a champion. With this fight, he can be a star."

While Joshua is arguably already one of the brightest stars in boxing today, there is little doubt that fighting Wilder will have an enormous impact on his stock and would potentially see the Briton rise to the very top of the boxing money pile.

Only Gennady Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez and Manny Pacquaio can match AJ when it comes to drawing a crowd amongst active boxers, although it can justifiably be said that Joshua has already surpassed his rivals in the popularity stakes.

With that being said, is Joshua well advised to steer clear of Wilder and his devastating right hand while he has other options in front of him?

Povetkin is a formidable challenge for any heavyweight and would enter the ring against the WBA, WBO and IBF champion with realistic expectations of inflicting a first loss upon him.

Joshua is in the habit of selling out the 78,000 capacity Principality Stadium in Wales regardless of who his opponent is; fighting the lightly regarded Carlos Takam, who served as a stand-in for Kubrat Pulev in November 2017, did not deter boxing fans from flocking to Wales to see their hero labour to a tenth round TKO.

Considering Joshua’s proven track record in drawing massive crowds, it appears likely that Wilder needs Joshua an awful lot more than Joshua needs Wilder.

Should Joshua ignore the clamour for him to step into the ring with Wilder at the first opportunity and deal with his mandatory opponents first?

Or should he give the fans what they want and agree a fight against Wilder that would see the heavyweight division be fully unified for the first time in its illustrious history?