The next fight of Great Britain's premier boxer Anthony Joshua was revealed last week, as it was announced the Watford-born fighter would put his belts on the line against Russian challenger Alexander Povetkin.

AJ's WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles will all be on-the-line at Wembley Stadium on September 22, the champion returning to the scene of his famous victory over Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017.

Povetkin provides a fresh challenge for Joshua, who last fought on the card where AJ defeated Joseph Parker in Cardiff, there he brutally knocked out Liverpudlian David Price in round three after being wobbled just a few minutes earlier.

Before the WBA ordered Joshua and his Matchroom Boxing team to finalise terms with Povetkin for a mandatory defence, AJ's promoter Eddie Hearn was working on a super-fight with WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

Those protracted negotiations were never finalised, with Hearn explaining that Wilder's team never got back to their offer, forcing them to confirm Povetkin as Joshua's next battle.

Hearn did confirm though that Joshua's following fight would take place in April 2019, leaving a potential unification clash with the 'Bronze Bomber' still on the table.

A fellow heavyweight fighter who was once the next-in-line to face Joshua in 2017 is Luis Ortiz, but that privilege was revoked following a failed drugs test.

And the 39-year-old has launched a huge verbal attack on Joshua and Hearn, whom he clearly has no respect for.

"I haven’t thought about Joshua since he avoided me a while back, but it’s a fight where you would see me enjoy beating the p*** out of him for several rounds," Ortiz told Premier Boxing Champions.

"I see myself breaking down Joshua to the body and ripping his head off with right hooks and straight left hands over the course of eight rounds.

"But at least Wilder put his money where his mouth is, stepped up and fought me. I’ve got zero respect for Joshua, who, at this point, is a complete punk hiding behind his puppeteer promoter (Hearn).

Ortiz will step into the ring for the first time since being stopped by Wilder, as he takes on Romanian bruiser Razvan Cojanu on July 28 in Los Angeles.

The Cuban still seemingly feels bitterness after that defeat, in a fight where he took Wilder closer than he's ever been to a professional loss, and believes that the heavyweight division is avoiding him for one reason.

"I could be 50 and still beat these guys. They ain’t (better than me). If my age is such a big deal, why isn’t Joshua calling me out?" continued Ortiz.

"Why isn’t Wilder giving me an immediate rematch? Why are all of these punks running from me? Obviously, they don’t want to fight and they’re all scared of me."