Anthony Joshua is thinking of violence, picturing the moment when the traits he tries to suppress are encouraged to come out.

It starts with a couple of soft jabs into the air and a loosening of his neck muscles. He’s slipping into fight mode as he imagines a ring in the O2 Arena, where he faces Denis Bakhtov on Saturday in his first title bout since winning Olympic gold in 2012.

‘People probably see a guy who doesn’t do all that trash-talking,’ says Joshua. ‘They probably see me being polite, respectful. What they don’t see is a lion. A lion sleeps a lot until it has to attack its prey. I rest, I lie around, I sleep. That is what people see when I give interviews on TV with professional people and I am calm. In my head it’s different.’

British heavyweight Anthony Joshua shows he’s ripped and ready for Denis Bakhtov on Saturday night at the O2 Arena

He throws two more punches. ‘I am always thinking, looking for the prey. I stalk it, I get ready. Then it is time to fight and it is all about being calculated. I study the guy. This is when it’s real.’

In little more than a whisper, Joshua adds: ‘One sign of weakness. I’m waiting, calculating. Show me one sign. Then I’ll pounce on you and I’ll enjoy it. Come on, just show me. One sign. That is all I need and I will hurt you. There it is. Bang. Bang. Bang.’ He throws a fast three-punch combination.

The most exciting heavyweight prospect in boxing laughs a friendly laugh. ‘That’s when the lion shows himself,’ he says. ‘I show myself in the ring. Let the beast out.’

This fight, for the WBC international heavyweight belt, is the first milestone after eight one-sided fights since Joshua turned professional almost exactly one year ago. It has given him cause to reflect.

Anthony Joshua shows his strength as he performs sit-ups with a weight attached to his head at his Es𝓈ℯ𝓍 gym

Olympic gold medalist Joshua. undefeated in eight fights, faces the Russian at the O2 Arena in his first title chance

Joshua has only one focus and spends five hours a day lifting, running and punching

He is trying to reconcile the public image of the mild-mannered giant with the man whose internal monologue occasionally asks ‘what the **** are you looking at?’ when strangers stare in the street. It usually takes him a moment to realise it is because he is famous now and people will look.

‘The other day I almost got in a fight with my sparring partner,’ he says. ‘He was 19st and tried to muscle me on the ropes. I thought, “He’s trying to muscle me, what the ****?” I was ready to take off my gloves and swing. A fighter has these instincts.

‘Whatever else people might think, I am a fighter. I’m hungry and fiery and I have an aggressive mind, but I’m also always trying to stay in control. You won’t see me be like these guys trash-talking and being rude or whatever. But don’t think I’m not a lion. I keep myself under control mostly, but in the ring I let it all come out in a calculated way. I’m on a mission and that guy in the other corner is in my way. I need to get him out of my way.’

Where will this mission end? He is too much of a realist, too aware of two predecessors, to give the answer people want.

Stood amid the vast expectations of world titles is a 6ft 6in 24-year-old of enormous potential who often in this interview says: ‘I’ve only had eight fights.’

Just one of those has gone past two rounds and his team talk of a world-title shot by the end of next year. ‘There’s some expectation out there,’ he says. ‘I don’t pay much attention to that. Me and my mates don’t sit around all day reading about me, watching the documentary Sky did.’

It’s a programme that charts his journey from the Meriden Estate in Watford. The police conviction for selling cannabis and the months he wore an electronic tag. He would have to be home by 7.30pm and sign in three times a week at the local station.

The documentary goes on to show how he won Olympic gold, aged 22, only four years on from boxing for the first time. It shows his arrival among the potential riches of professional boxing — he used to drive a Vauxhall Astra and go clubbing but now owns a Jaguar XKR and spends five hours a day lifting, running and punching.

‘I’ve not had a drop of alcohol since before the Olympics,’ he says. ‘Everything I do is geared towards this opportunity I have. I know where I came from and how far I have to go. I am in tune with the fact that I will die. I have a short time to do things in boxing and I want to make my mark.’

Heavyweight prospect Joshua knows he must be in peak condition if he is to make his mark in the ring

The 24-year-old is currently undefeated in eight fights, with Bakhtov losing nine of his 48 fights

That brings him to David Price, the previous British heavyweight hope currently on the long road back after successive defeats last year.

‘I used to watch Price and think, “This guy is a beast. Man, I might have to fight him one day”. But then you see him lose and then lose again. Wow.

‘The picture changed so much for him — he was meant to be the next Klitschko. For me, I don’t look at someone’s success, I look at their struggle. I will never forget what Price has been through. He is brilliantly talented but now people are writing him off. That is how quickly it changes. I think he’ll be back but I thought he was rushed a bit.

‘I don’t want to look back and think I was rushed, but people seem to want me to jump in and fight for a world title now. That won’t happen until I’ve got 12 rounds under my belt. I won’t rush.’

That brings him on to Audley Harrison.

‘It disgusts me the way people talk about Audley,’ says Joshua. ‘Audley found a level and that is where he is. Why in people’s minds does he need to achieve what Tyson or Ali achieved? Sure he talks, but that’s part of the sport.

The 24-year-old has shown glimpses of enormous potential in his eight professional fight

‘The guy won Olympic gold and didn’t win a world title in the pros and got disrespected for that. I don’t listen to a lot of what gets said about me but I know there are expectations.

‘The only thing that would crush me is if I don’t meet the expectations people have for me and then they disrespect me. Because I have my limitations. Will we find out what they are in 10 years? Five?

‘Everyone in boxing gets beat. Floyd Mayweather is the exception. Because of him, everyone says you have to be unbeaten to be good.

‘I went out recently to spar with Wladimir Klitschko in Austria. We did about 20 rounds and we spoke a lot. His people were watching me really closely, filming every session. It was quite funny, they were taking a proper close look and I held my own. But, anyway, I learnt from what he was telling me.

Joshua recently travelled to Austria to spar with current WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO champion Wladimir Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko’s entourage kept a close on Joshua during the sparring sessions in Austria

‘He was saying, “Everyone loses, the losses are what moulded me. It won’t all be about wins”. That stayed with me. If I give 110 per cent the only thing that will crush me is if people don’t feel satisfied, if they disrespect me for it.’

A broad grin spreads on his face. ‘Let’s wait and see,’ he says. ‘I think it’ll be a while before we find my limitations. But I know there’s talent in there. I just need to keep hurting the man in front of me.’

He mentions Tyson Fury, Price, Dereck Chisora and David Haye as future fights. ‘One day,’ he says and slams his right fist into his left palm. In the meantime, he’s up late each night reading. ‘I’ve been reading one of Robert Kiyosaki’s on business and another book about how the mind controls the body.

‘I read a lot. And I got quite into chess but no one will play me. I want a mind that works under pressure and this all keeps me sharp.’

With that, he starts throwing jabs at the air. ‘Looking forward to this,’ he says. ‘I love fight night. I’ve had enough lying around and resting.’

Joshua (left) will face Russia’s Denis Bakhtov (right) in his first title fight on Saturday night

Let me know what you think about this?