Anthony Joshua believes boxing at Vicarage Road for a British title would create a great atmosphere in Watford and promoter Eddie Hearn says he will speak to the Hornets early next year about a potential summer fight.

The 24-year-old returned to his home town this week as he prepared for tonight's WBC International heavyweight title fight against Denis Bakhtov at London’s O2 Arena.

Olympic gold medallist Joshua undertook an open workout session at intu Watford on Monday afternoon but also spent time speaking and posing with fans for photos. There were many faces among the crowd the heavyweight recognised including his barber and several friends from west and north Watford.

“It’s my town,” Joshua said. “It is nice to be back. I’ve still got family and friends based here. It’s great to come back to Watford.”

Since turning professional last year Joshua has been flawless in the ring. He has stopped each of his opponents and has progressed at a rate Hearn admitted has surprised him.

Tonight he competes for his first title. Joshua has an understandable air of confidence when discussing the fight and is confident of winning.

If he continues to rack up the victories it won’t be long before he’s in the ring fighting for a British title. Joshua hopes that will be at Vicarage Road.

He explained: “Fighting anywhere appeals to me but Vicarage Road would be the icing on the cake. It’s my town and on a nice sunny day, against an opponent people want to see me fight, it would create a great atmosphere in Watford. Hopefully that will happen if I keep doing my job and keep winning.”

Hearn said Joshua, who is good friends with Watford captain Troy Deeney, has long dreamed of fighting at Watford’s stadium.

He believes an event at Vicarage Road is a real possibility if a deal can be agreed with the club.

“When we had our first discussions he always spoke about Vicarage Road,” said the Matchroom Sports promoter. “We’ll have six thousand people at the O2 on Saturday – only a year after his debut.

“But Vicarage Road is a real possibility and bringing a fight here would be really special. The club may really want to get behind it and put Watford on the map. Plus they’ll make a few quid as well. That’s always important in football. But next summer, Vicarage Road for the British title. That would be nice.

“Beyond that you’d be looking at Wembley. I think that’s somewhere he’ll be fighting at a lot.”

Hearn firmly believes Joshua has national appeal and would draw large crowds.

“Every city he goes to he gets mobbed. It would be nice for him to come back to Watford,” he added.

And it seems a possibility. Watford FC have confirmed they are open to the idea of holding a potential fight and have experience of hosting a large event after they welcomed Elton John for a concert in 2010.

The Hornets’ operations director Glyn Evans said: “We are always open to the possibility of the stadium being used for a number of different events, be they sporting or otherwise.

“We have previously shown through, for example the Elton John concert, that sizeable events can staged at Vicarage Road.

“Each specific request is always assessed on merit and with the obvious considerations with regards to pitch usage and annual renovation works.”

But before that Joshua will have to take on Kazakh fighter Bakhtov. The 34-year-old is a vastly experienced professional with 38 wins and nine losses to his name.

Joshua, who used to live on the Meriden estate in Garston, has yet to be forced past the third round in his pro career.

But when asked if he hoped for a more competitive fight, Joshua replied: “No, I could never be hopeful of a fight lasting a few rounds.”

So he is hoping for another knock-out. But while Joshua did admit that he’ll have to be smart and cautious in the early rounds, he believes he’ll break down Bakhtov the longer the fight progresses.

If he does, the WBC international heavyweight belt will be his first professional title.

Joshua said: “I see it like this. I went through the ranks as an amateur all the way to the Olympics. It is now the same as a professional.

“It may not be the most glamorous title but it is all about the journey we are on.”