Anthony Joshua wants to fight on the Mayweather-McGregor undercard

Whatever you think of its sporting merit, there’s no doubt that a showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor – if it happens – will be one of the biggest fights ever staged.

And a man who knows something about big fights is the newly crowned IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua, who ascended to the top of the boxing tree with his sensational win against Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium in April.

So what would happen if you put them all together? An event that would take over the world, which is exactly what Joshua suggested to Mayweather when the two boxers met at a meet-and-greet event for fans while Mayweather has been in the UK on promotional duties.

Mayweather said, “Me and McGregor – it’s not big enough!” to which Joshua replied “Oh, you want bigger?… Get me on the undercard!”

While Joshua seemed to be joking, he followed up by saying about the proposed superfight between the unbeaten five-division world champion and the UFC’s biggest star: “That's legendary shit, that fight will go (down) in history”.

While it would certainly be a surprising move, given Joshua’s status, some have speculated that it would be a shot to nothing – Mayweather wins and he’s part of one of the biggest boxing events in history, Mayweather loses and Joshua looks even more like the new boxing great that the world needs to look to in the immediate future.

However, we can’t really see it happening – but it’s boxing, so never say never.

Meanwhile, the main event moved a little closer last week with McGregor agreeing his part of the deal to fight Mayweather with UFC president Dana White – believed to be in the region of £58m; however, Mayweather agreeing a deal is another matter entirely.

The 40-year-old, who retired in 2015, made it clear in the past that he is keen to step back in the ring, saying: “McGregor is the only fight I will come back for. That's 100%. It's the only fight that makes sense to me. I've accomplished everything else. Is this one extra obstacle to overcome?”