A local pub was shocked to discover Anthony Joshua had secured it a shipment of free beer in a post-fight shout-out.

Fresh off his seventh round KO victory over Robert Helenius on August 12, the boxer called on MMA star and drinks business founder Conor McGregor to ship a “crateload” of his Forged Irish Stout to The Badger Pub in Meriden.

Joshua, who grew up in the North Watford estate, said: “If Conor is in here anywhere, I want a crateload of free Forged shipped to the Badger in Meriden.

"All the locals would be very, very happy.”

“That will be there tomorrow I bet," his promoter Eddie Hearn added.

The beer has not arrived quite as quickly as he guessed, but McGregor quickly took to Instagram to confirm the shipment had been arranged.

He commented: “Done and done! What a fighter, what a man”.

The pub, in The Gossamers, has had confirmation that a crate is on its way, which manager Darren Seabrook said was “as much of a surprise to me as it was to everyone else”.

He hadn’t been watching the press conference but was quickly flooded with “20 people sending me the same video”.

He described AJ as a “generous guy” who “knows where he came from” and explained that the former world champion’s visits to the boozer are always a pleasure.

“It was a nice gesture and for him to mention his local pub,” he added.

“He pops in when he can, and I think he is proud of where he comes from.”

McGregor’s Forged Irish Stout was launched in the UK for the first time on August 5 and, besides The Badger, it is only stocked in ASDA stores.

Watford Observer: The Badger's tapsThe Badger's taps

Joshua had been set to face fellow British heavyweight Dillian Whyte until his rival had to be pulled from the show last weekend when “adverse analytical findings” were detected in his doping test.

Helenius stepped in as a last-minute opponent and AJ was able to provide the crowd with a speculator finish, unleashing a huge right hand to knock his foe off his feet after one minute and 27 seconds of round seven.