The 39 year-old, who is preparing to face Joshua’s compatriot Tyson Fury on October 24 in Dusseldorf, has described the Olympic gold medallist as the best prospect ‘for 25 years’ following 13 straight wins inside three rounds.
“Anthony has all the tools to become that great champion inside and, most importantly, probably, outside of the ring,” Klitschko told the BBC.
A recent five-fight television deal with German broadcasters RTL means Klitschko will be around for at least the next two years or more, meaning a fight with upcoming Commonwealth title challenger Joshua would be inevitable should the two fighters remain undefeated.
“He needs to improve and eventually it will happen – if I stay where I am today,” said Klitschko.
“You (Joshua) cannot pass me since I’ve been holding the titles for many years, so if you want to get onto my mountain then you will have to face me,” he added.
Klitschko v Joshua is a mouth-watering prospect if Eddie Hearn decides to go down that route with his talented protégé, although ‘AJ’ is still at British level and the Matchroom boss will want to avoid any talk of facing the formidable Ukrainian yet.
WBC number two-ranked Joshua, 25, first must deal with two unbeaten compatriots in Gary Cornish and Dillian Whyte this year in order to clean up domestically, before moving on to European and world level, possibly by this time in 2016.
