Anthony Joshua inferior to Joseph Parker in terms of speed, says Carlos Takam

Former WBC silver heavyweight champion Carlos Takam believes Anthony Joshua's world unification bout with Joseph Parker will be determined by "speed or strength" and has warned 'AJ' that he is not as quick as the South Auckland boxer.

Joshua is putting all of his belts on the line against Parker as he looks to become the first fighter to unify the heavyweight division since Lennox Lewis back in 1999 and is the overwhelming favourite with the bookmakers ahead of the bout at the Principality Stadium at the end of March.

Takam made Joshua work hard to retain his IBF and WBA heavyweight titles before succumbing to the punishment rained down on him by the 28-year-old in October and also suffered defeat at the hands of Parker in 2016. He is planning on returning to Cardiff to watch the fight between "two good champions" and has warned the 2012 Olympic gold medalist of the Pacific Islander's speed and believes pace or power will decide the victor in the Welsh capital.

"Joseph Parker, the guy has speed, a lot of speed. I think his speed is faster than Joshua," Takam told Sky Sports.

"Joshua is strong, but Parker's speed is faster than Joshua and we're going to see what is going to happen in the fight - speed or strength.

"For me, those two are the best. I have respect for Parker, I have respect for Joshua. For me, they are two good fighters, two good boxers, two good champions."

Takam delivered an impressive, resilient display in his last fight against Joshua despite having just 12 days to prepare for the fight after mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev pulled out with a shoulder injury.

The 37-year-old French-Cameroonian is now preparing to fight in April but has told of his ambition to get in the ring with another British boxer in the near future, with WBC international heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte in his sights.

"After the fight, maybe I want to come to Britain to fight," Takam said. "After my fight, I'm going to see what I'm going to do. Maybe I'm going to make one big fight after my fight in April.

"I would like to fight Dillian Whyte, yes."