Wednesday 16 March 2016 15:03, UK
Anthony Joshua and Charles Martin have 'had a similar career' to date, according to former world champion David Haye.
Britain's Olympic champion Joshua (15-0-KO15) takes on IBF world heavyweight champion Martin (23-0-1-KO21) at The O2 on April 9 - live on Sky Sports Box Office - in what promises to be one of 2016's most significant sporting events.
Haye (27-2-KO25) is hoping to face Joshua in the future and despite his compatriot's last fight being at British title level, 'The Hayemaker' says there's not much difference in the quality of Joshua's opponents when compared to those overcome by the American champion.
They're both in a similar position in terms of experience. I actually believe Joshua has fought a higher calibre of opposition than Martin.
Haye told Sky Sports: "If you look at the trajectory of his [Joshua's] career, he's been looking at named opponents from his 10th or 11th fight. He's now fighting someone who's had a similar career to himself - he's not in there with Wladimir Klitschko, Tyson Fury or myself. He's fighting someone who's as inexperienced as he is.
"The guy is a world champion but he's probably had only one fight equivalent to Joshua's Dillian Whyte fight, where someone threw some punches back and tried to win. Vyacheslav Glazkov was probably the first guy with a winning record who threw back at Martin. Same with Joshua and Whyte - Whyte had a training camp and was there to win.
"They're both in a similar position in terms of experience. I actually believe Joshua has fought a higher calibre of opposition than Martin. It's a perfect fight for him to take - Eddie Hearn and Sky Sports have mapped his career out to get to The O2 arena, a sell-out crowd, fighting a big American guy for a world heavyweight championship.
"When the fight was first announced, I thought Anthony would blast him out of the water easily but the more I've looked in to it, the more I've spoken to people I respect in the boxing game, they're saying Martin is better than his record suggests. He's not proved things in the ring as yet but people I respect say he's a threat to any heavyweight on the planet."
Haye returned from three-and-a-half years in the boxing wilderness in January when he knocked out Mark de Mori inside a round, and is currently gearing up for his next bout on May 21.
David Haye fights at The O2 in London on 21st May. Tickets are on sale now via axs.com or hayemaker.com.
