BOXING: Joshua faces grudge match that he hopes will turn out all Whyte on the night

Things just got interesting. With impeccable timing and hot on the heels of Tyson Fury’s thoroughly-deserved upset victory over long-time heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko, comes Anthony Joshua’s latest step on the road towards potential boxing stardom. Fury’s exploits in Dusseldorf a fortnight ago have added an intriguing backdrop to what was an already nicely simmering match-up between Joshua and Dillian Whyte for the British Heavyweight title at the O2 on Saturday night.

Like him or loathe him, by ending Klitshcko’s 11-year reign, Fury has blown the division wide open, with the prospect of a Joshua Fury contest already being mooted as early as next autumn.

This seems a little far-fetched for the moment at least. Normal order may well be re-established when Fury and Klitschko fight again early in 2016. As for Joshua, he must first negotiate what could be a tricky assignment against Whyte. The PR offensive for the event has focused on what appears to be a genuine animosity between the two, as well as the amateur victory – including a knockdown – that Whyte secured over Joshua in 2009.

Alluding to Joshua’s youthful indiscretions in the build-up, Whyte has called him a ‘scumbag’, suggesting his polite and respectful media persona is a stage managed fraud. Predictably, Joshua has remained largely stoic in the face of the verbals.

In truth, other than generating interest and inflating PPV sales, none of this especially matters. Whyte’s bragging rights from the amateurs shouldn’t serve as any sort of barometer for Saturday either. Joshua has come an awfully long way since what was only his third amateur contest, as the grainy video of the bout will attest.

Their roads to this weekend’s meeting have been somewhat divergent. While Joshua was busy on his gilded path from London Olympic gold to a pro debut at the O2, Whyte, a kickboxer turned boxer, was making his professional bow at Gillingham’s Medway Park Leisure Centre. Since then he has quietly amassed a decent looking 16-0 (13 KOs) record, albeit against decidedly limited opposition. Whyte is big, awkward and hits hard but in facing Joshua he is stepping up massively in class.

Allied to the gold medal and easy charm, the buzz and excitement around Joshua stems from the terrifyingly destructive manner in which he has dispatched his 14 opponents to date. Not since Lennox Lewis have we seen a British heavyweight with the combination of size, physique and punching power that Joshua brings. Approaching his 15th bout he is yet to be taken beyond the third round - Lewis also fought for the British title in his 15th fight. Although he has predicted this pattern will continue against Whyte, it could be in his longer-term interests that it doesn’t.

During the build-up to Saturday, Joshua has very much talked up the prospect of a bout with Fury in the not too distant future. If he and Eddie Hearn are serious about making this happen, they’ll surely know that they are in desperate need of a sterner examination.

What happens when Joshua gets hit back?

What happens when he’s taken beyond halfway or even into the latter stages of a fight?

Questions that Kevin Johnson was meant, but spectacularly failed to answer in May.

These unknowns need answering before hasty talk of a fight with Fury, or any of the other leading lights in the division for that matter, is made reality. Joshua would benefit from a decent argument and at least 6 rounds against Whyte. At this point in his career he needs it.

Whether Whyte is the man to extend him remains to be seen. What’s certain is that if Joshua comes through Saturday unscathed, which he should, clamour for a fight with Fury will grow. Attention will turn to Fury’s re-match with Klitschko, but even if the Mancunian were to lose the return, a match-up against Joshua would remain an eminently sellable proposition.

Joshua’s career has been expertly guided by Hearn thus far, so don’t expect him to rush things prematurely. The most likely scenario is a victory on Saturday, in his toughest test to date, followed by a couple of fights against top 10 ranked opposition in 2016. Assuming of course he keeps notching the Ws, Joshua should then be in a position to fight for a world title the following year.

The current heavyweight landscape is potentially the most exciting we’ve seen in well over a decade, with British interest firmly at the forefront. Unfairly derided in some quarters, the Klitschko brothers suffered in public perception for simply being much better than anything else around for the past 10 years.

With their era drawing to a close (at 39 Wladimir will surely exit stage left in the near future even if he does manage to regain his titles) a host of new names will look to fill the vacuum.

Across the Atlantic, current WBC titlist Deontay Wilder looks the best American prospect for some considerable time. Ungainly and arguably still unproven, there’s no doubting his chilling knockout power.

Where will David Haye figure following his return from a three-year hiatus from the sport? Should Joshua’s star continue to rise he certainly won’t be short of options.

Whisper it, but heavyweight boxing might just be worth keeping an eye on again.

Follow Michael on twitter at @Parsonsm84