Muhammad Ali. Lennox Lewis. Vitali Klitschko. Evander Holyfield. These are names that are not just synonymous with the sport, but transcend it too, icons in their own right.

This weekend, another man could join their illustrious ranks, and with it, rubber-stamp his future elevation to Hall of Fame status as one of the division's modern greats.

Anthony Joshua has twice been champion of the world before. But to achieve the feat for a third time would put him in rarefied company, a tribute to his position in the pantheon.

It has not quite been the journey many predicted for the warrior from Watford, a man whose career was springboarded from an unexpected gold medal success at London 2012.

The early signs were always promising, and his elevation through the rankings proved that he had the power to become a superstar in the sport.

His win against Wladimir Klitschko, arranged after Tyson Fury relinquished the world titles he had won against the Ukranian, elevated him to the pinnacle of boxing.

(Getty Images)

There have been troughs to the peaks along the way; a first career loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. at Madison Square Garden, double defeat to Oleksandr Usyk at home and abroad.

When Joshua fell by split decision in Jeddah, it felt as if there was a sea change to the hierarchy of a division he had once controlled and dominated.

It seemed as if the world was watching the slow fade of a modern-day great, amplified by a subsequent points win over Jermaine Franklin that could not shake the unease.

But while Usyk and Fury fought for undisputed glory, Joshua has clawed his way back up the rankings with a sturdy self-belief befitting his status, and now sits on the cusp again.

There is a beautiful symmetry to the fact he will fight Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium for the IBF heavyweight title - the crown he won in 2016 to set him on his journey.

Then, it was Charles Martin he felled, ending the American's 85-day reign with a second-round knockout to announce himself as a serious contender.

Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

Now, this Saturday, he faces his countryman - elevated to the belt after Usyk was forced to relinquish it - with the potential to regather it and make history.

If he suffers defeat at the hands of Dubois, Joshua will still be remembered in elite company. Ali suffered five defeats across his career, Holyfield with ten too.

Likewise, many will still always stack him against Usyk and Fury in this fantastic modern era of heavyweight competition, two more men assured of a place in history.

Victory however will not only lay the path to a potential undisputed bout of his own with one of the two - it will confirm his place as a legendary sportsman, one who deserves to be recognised as the magnificent talent he is.

Roll on the weekend.

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