The 24 year-old Londoner, who is set for his next outing on May 31 as part of the massive UK rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves, has been named at number 29 in the WBC’s recently announced April ratings.
Joshua has knocked out all five of his foes so far within two rounds, which has been noted by the WBC commission with a lofty position above some seasoned campaigners.
Former world title challenger Andrzej Wawrzyk, who has lost just once to Alexander Povetkin in 30 fights sits just below Joshua at 30, whilst Alexander Ustinov, who holds an identical record with his loss to Kubrat Pulev, is a further three places behind.
This is despite Ustinov beating 59-fight world-class campaigner David Tua into retirement convincingly in November and being consistently linked to a world title fight with Wladimir Klitschko.
Even further back is Joshua’s compatriot and potential future rival David Price, who currently sits at 34 despite 15 wins from 17 bouts and holding British and Commonwealth titles in the past two years.
Big-punching Joshua’s high-profile following his exploits at London 2012 must have a lot to do with how highly the WBC have placed the 6ft 6ins brute, who could conceivably make the top ten in the next twelve months.
It may not be the pace at which promoter Eddie Hearn would want Joshua to be pushed towards some of the better heavyweights out there, although it is a testament to how highly Joshua’s skills and power are already rated worldwide.
The Watford man is a nailed on future world champion in the current climate of heavyweights, with only Wladimir Klitschko seemingly any danger to Joshua picking up a recognised belt in the next two to three years.
Klitschko, 38, could well have decided to step away from the sport by then to settle down with his new fiancée, leaving Joshua and the likes of Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, Bryant Jennings and Mike Perez to contest domination of the division.
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