Anthony Joshua as had his say on who the heavyweight GOAT is, and it's already raising a few eyebrows.

In an interview with iFL TV’s Kugan Cassius, Joshua appears tired of questions surrounding the politics of his boxing career, such as the current broadcasting and contractual unclarity between Joshua, Sky, and the streaming platform DAZN.

He was soon asked to name his heavyweight GOAT the British star quickly confirming that he believed that the greatest heavyweight of all time is the undisputed world heavyweight champion of 1987 to 1990, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.

Before Joshua’s explanation for his answer, he took the time to pay tribute to Muhammad Ali’s greatness:

“The GOAT, in and out of the ring, what he embodied, the people he fought, the run he had at the top tier”, before listing some of the great fighters that Ali faced during his 61 fight career, including the likes of Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Floyd Patterson, and George Foreman. Joshua credits Ali with having fought “the best of the best” and having “done it all”.

However, the two-time former unified world heavyweight champion Joshua then goes on to describe Mike Tyson with a sense of unmatchable awe and reverence that many hold for the intimidating brawler that shook the boxing world in the late 1980s.

Antony Joshua
SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - MAY 01: Anthony Joshua tapes his hands up prior to a training session during the Anthony Joshua Media Day at the English Institute of Sport on May 01, 2019 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - MAY 01: Anthony Joshua tapes his hands up prior to a training session during the Anthony Joshua Media Day at the English Institute of Sport on May 01, 2019 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

"I listened to a talk from the late, great Emmanuel Steward who said, 'You had six-foot five guys trying to bob and weave like Mike Tyson.'

"Mike Tyson, for me, just phenomenal, just phenomenal. I can't even get the words out. He's my number one."

Joshua’s preference of Tyson over Ali, and his idolisation of the notoriously hard hitter is arguably a reflection of himself.

The 6 foot 6 Brit heavily focuses on his greatest feature of his muscular physique and knockout power to defeat his opponents, with an incredible knockout-to-win percentage of 91.67%.

Mike Tyson

SAN REMO, ITALY - MARCH 2: Mike Tyson attends the second day of the San Remo Festival at the Ariston Theatre on March 2, 2005 in San Remo, Italy. The five-day singing competition, organised by Rai Television, has welcomed such stars as Tina Turner, Peter Gabriel, and Andrea Boccelli in the past. Last year's festival was shrouded in controversy because Tony Renis, recently appointed artistic director of the festival, allegedly has close links with the Mafia. An alternative festival, the Mantova Musica Festival, was organised in protest at his appointment. (Photo by Giuseppe Cacace/Getty Images)

Many accused Joshua of relying too much on his physique and lacking good enough boxing skills to compete at the highest level following last year’s defeat to the far smaller yet incredibly technical former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

However, Joshua is seeking to prove such critics wrong in their highly anticipated rematch, set to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on August 20.

AJ will be hoping to channel his inner Mike Tyson and knockout the 35-year-old Ukrainian, to reclaim his WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles and become a three-time unified world heavyweight champion.

Should he win that fight, then it could pave the way for a bout with a man who might consider himself the heavyweight GOAT, Tyson Fury.