The British fighter claimed earlier this year that he was entering the closing stages of his time in the ring but his promoter has now changed tact by suggesting that he could be competing at the top for many years to come.

Quizzed on how many fights Joshua has left, Hearn told talkSPORT: "At the moment, plenty.

"Everything changes after every fight, but I think I've never seen him enjoy boxing so much.

"The preparation, the team. It's simple but effective. I think he's really found his rhythm with Ben (Davison, his trainer) and the camp there.

"And I think if you look back after the Oleksandr Usyk fights you might have said, 'How many more fights? Three? Five?'

"Well we've had four since then and now we're saying five (more) still. It's always fight by fight."

Joshua will seek to become a three-time heavyweight world champion when he takes on compatriot Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium later this month and insists that the fight will be very difficult for his charge despite his status as favourite.

Hearn said: "This is a very dangerous fight, but it's a great fight.

"People in boxing know what a great fight it is, but I think the general consensus is, 'Oh, AJ's a massive favourite.'

"I think he is favourite, but if you look at people's assessment within boxing they're much more skewed towards it being a 50/50 than maybe the man on the street that doesn't know a great deal about Dubois and the run that he's on.

"I think they're both in absolutely prime form but I do make Anthony the favourite in the fight."