Anthony Joshua aiming for early round knockout against Dillian Whyte

Joshua resorted to throwing jabs as he tried to regain control of the contest in the third but again Whyte withstood and returned with more powerful lefts with the undefeated Olympian looking vulnerable for the first time in his career.

No boxer, certainly no heavyweight boxer, is unbeatable and one punch can turn it all around and that in itself is a threat going in with Chisora, but his record, his know-how and his approach are a few more of Joshua’s boxes that need ticking. “The amateur win has given him belief and something that he can say he has over me, and mentally he’s living off that”.

“I’ve got the British title”.

Joshua could emulate Lennox Lewis, who won Olympic gold before going on to become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, but he does not wish to get ahead of himself. I take that attitude into this fight.

‘I don’t need to be on lottery (funding) to be loaded on steroids, ‘ said Whyte of the London 2012 gold medallist, who in 2011 pleaded guilty to possessing a class B drug.

He can now look forward to an exciting 2016 with a clash with former WBA champ David Haye on the horizon and maybe even a shot at WBC king Deontay Wilder towards the back end of the year.

The London heavyweights meet for the British and Commonwealth titles at the O2, with the simmering tensions between the pair all too apparent on Thursday.

“When I first started boxing I thought I was the man. I knocked out my first two opponents”, Joshua added.

Joshua was lively in that opening round as he landed some good combination shots, but in the second he showed his vulnerability as Whyte was on top and Joshua looked rattled.

He is a totally different fighter from the rookie put down by Whyte, and he said: “You learn from those things, don’t you?”

“You got a two-year ban”, he said.

Anthony Joshua got through some early difficulty to blast Dillian Whyte out in the seventh round.

“We’d been patiently waiting for this moment and I enjoy being victorious and showing that talk is cheap, you have to back it up when you’re in the ring”.

“He’s capable of taking me past three rounds, but that will be the achievement he takes from the fight because he is getting stopped”. “People said ‘Can he take a shot?’ and I took a couple of silly ones, and ‘Can he go the rounds?’ and I managed to go further than I’ve ever been before and still managed to get him out”. I made it tough on myself.