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Anthony Joshua: I could have a say on UK politics

Joshua is scheduled to fight Parker in his next fight in Cardiff. Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Anthony Joshua has revealed an interest in politics and believes he could have an input into the way the UK is run in the future.

The IBF-WBA world heavyweight champion is one of the most popular sports figures in the UK after knocking out all 20 professional opponents since winning gold at the 2012 Olympics.

Joshua can add a third belt to his collection if he beats New Zealand's Joseph Parker, the WBO titleholder, at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on March 31.

The Briton is not planning on running for Prime Minister yet, but his interest in politics could see him one day follow in the footsteps of eight-weight world champion Manny Pacquiao and former WBC world heavyweight king Vitali Klitschko.

Joshua, 28, says he can relate his experiences growing up in Watford and then north London during which time he was in trouble with the police on charges for drugs possession and assault.

"I do have an interest but I'm not saying I can run the country but I do think that I could have a say," Joshua told Channel 4.

"I could have an input and I do think young kids coming up in this country should have a more of a say of what's going on.

"I think that the county's moving at such a rapid pace that some people that are older have been in power do need young creative minds to kind of influence what is happening in the world and world matters.

"I've an interest and I have learnt a lot through boxing in terms of like world matters and what matters to me and what matters to the minority because that's where I come from.

"I do have a voice but remember I sacrificed education to follow a sporting career. So what I say isn't always going to be facts and my point of view isn't always going to be from an educational stand point but it will be from a reality, a realistic stand point.

"Because I didn't go to school I didn't educate myself, I haven't been in a class room, and I've been out on the streets with people every day since I was young."

Pacquiao, 39, has yet to indicate if he will fight again and since May 2016 has been juggling his boxing career with serving as a senator in the Philippines. Klitschko, 46, is three years and half years into the job as the Mayor of Kiev in his native Ukraine after retiring from the boxing ring in 2012.