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HONOUR: Anthony Joshua picked up his OBE at Buckingham Palace yesterday

ANTHONY JOSHUA has been awarded an OBE by Prince Charles.

The boxing champion picked up the Order of the British Empire honour at Buckingham Palace yesterday.

Joshua, who won a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games, took the opportunity to reflect on the positive impacts boxing can have on the individuals who participate in the sport and society as a whole.

"It's understanding what I've done and I feel like in terms of services to sport it's like creating an economy and it helps people from different backgrounds,” he told reporters after the ceremony.

He added: “In boxing you meet people, you inspire them and they do the same. You never know where it could take someone. That’s important. It’s not just the medal, it’s what I’ve done to achieve it.”

Joshua, the current IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight world champion received the OBE in recognition of his services to sport.

The 29-year-old has announced that he wants to take on Deontay Wilder to become the “undisputed champion”.

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He said: “The reason why I’ve booked Wembley is to face Wilder, so if it’s not Wilder then I don’t know who can kind of fill that void.”

“If the fans want me to fight someone and they’re interested they will come out, if they’re not interested then I’m going to end up struggling to fill Wembley,” he added.

After the ceremony, Joshua posed for pictures on the palace grounds with members of the Queen’s Guard and Freddie Cunningham, Iwan Llewelyn and Andy Bell, who also received honours for services to sport.

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