Anthony Joshua has already announced his intentions to become the undisputed heavyweight champion in 2019.

The Brit currently holds the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO belts.

He’s missing the WBC title though, which belongs to Deontay Wilder.

That belt could change hands this weekend, with Wilder taking on Tyson Fury in Los Angeles.

It would be an opportunity to stoke the fire between Joshua and the winner ahead of a 2019 bout but AJ won’t be in attendance.

“We’ve got our show in Italy on Friday, and AJ goes out on Tuesday to film in America,” Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports.

“He’ll also be at the ‘Canelo’ fight with DAZN, and he’ll be doing a lot of media stuff around there.”

Joshua is backing Wilder to win

Hearn insists that the plan for Joshua is to face Wilder next year.

And that should be straightforward to arrange if the American prevails - which Joshua fully expects him to do.

The 29-year-old believes Fury’s inactivity - he has fought twice since a two-a-half year absence from boxing - will cost him against Wilder.

“Definitely Wilder. I’m saying Wilder, I was thinking about it today,” Joshua, William Hill’s global brand ambassador, said, per the Daily Mail.

“When I fought Klitschko, he had 16-17 months off because Fury got injured and had to pull out of their fight so he had a long period off.

“He said it done him well because he was training in between, he revitalised his body. He has been doing it for so long.

“He took himself out of the box, freshened up, he trained so he kept his body active, and then he had a fight with me

“But due to the fact I was active while he was waiting to fight Fury, I managed to get the stoppage in the 11th round.

“That activeness plays a big part in boxing

“Then you have got Fury who had a long lay-off, was not training, did the opposite and is now going to fight a championship fighter.

“The proof is in the pudding and history only teaches us that it will repeat itself. So I think that Fury will lose, Wilder will win.”

Fury has taken part in two comeback fights in 2018, defeating Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta, but Wilder is a different animal entirely.

He boasts a 40-0 record. Thirty-nine of those victories came via knockout.

Fury should be applauded for getting back in shape and taking on the fight - but it’s hard to ignore Joshua’s valid concerns.

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