Wladimir Klitschko dismissed Anthony Joshua on Wednesday as a fighter made confident with "big muscles" who is "raw" and could go on to be "a crossfit world champion" as the former world heavyweight champion gave a brazen appraisal of the 27-year-old champion who will defend his IBF title in his first genuine challenge at Wembley Stadium in three and a half weeks time.

These were the first barbs aimed at Joshua from Klitschko in the build up to this event from the Ukrainan's tyrolean training camp.

The 41-year-old, who reigned over the heavyweight division unbeaten for nine and a half years until he was beaten on points by Tyson Fury, now exiled from the sport through mental health issues, in November 2015, painted a confident picture from his camp yesterday.

Asked to assess Joshua's skills, Klitschko responded: "AJ has a lot of energy, he's young, he wants to show it. He has these big muscles that give him confidence. He wants to demolish people right in front of him. Those muscles give him a lot of confidence."

Klitschko, who goes into his 29th world title fight in front of 90,000 fans at the national football stadium, added deliberately: "But did you hear about boxing? It's the sweet science. Boxing is the sweet science, the ice is thin. The most vicious boxers were conquered. There was one boxer, Kimbo Slice, he was unstoppable, he was knocking everybody out."