Anthony Joshua has named Lennox Lewis as his dream opponent from across all of boxing's history, with the current unified heavyweight world champion expressing the wish to prove himself as Britain's best ever.

Joshua, alongside long-term American rival Deontay Wilder, currently reigns supreme within boxing's premier weight class, and some fans have already put the Watford-born fighter forwards as a future hall of famer.

Despite possessing the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO titles - every belt available bar Wilder's WBC crown - others still question where Joshua would sit among the pantheon of the sport's historical elite.

Now, when quizzed on his place in history, and who he would have loved to face off against, regardless of time, Joshua is in no doubt. 

"I always say Lennox, Lennox Lewis. He's active, he's still talking about boxing to this day," he said during a feature for Top Gear.

When pushed on why he chose Lewis above all other fellow legends, the thrill of facing off against one of Britain's greatest ever sportsmen in a domestic showdown proved the deciding factor. 

"He was a British heavyweight. I think it would be the best of Britain. Big fight that, if the fans demanded it, it would be at Wembley."

Whilst Joshua undoubtedly views his former world champion compatriot as a role model within the game, Lewis has been far less flattering with his comments regarding Joshua in recent weeks. 

After Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder's stunning showdown at the beginning of the month, Lewis questioned whether Joshua would truly want to face off against either fighter, despite AJ repeatedly claiming his eyes are set on Wilder only.

Lewis has also expressed doubts on whether Joshua's team can actually make a fight with Wilder, questioning how, if both teams are seemingly so keen to face off against one another, why hadn't such a fight materialised for their fans?

Despite his comments, however, Lewis and Joshua would have undoubtedly put on one of the greatest fights the sport has ever seen.

Whilst Joshua also would have viewed the winner of any such theoretical bout as the greatest Brit of all time, Tyson Fury himself would certainly have more than a little to say on where he views himself in that mix too.