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It's nothing if not counter-intuitive.

A 41-year-old boxer who's coming off a loss and has since been shelved for 17 months rarely jumps back in the ring with a young lion -- let alone a young lion carrying a title belt and a string of 18 straight KO wins.

But that's precisely what Wladimir Klitschko plans on doing in April when he visits London's mammoth Wembley Stadium to take on native son and reigning IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

The two agreed to a match earlier this month and tickets went on sale last week, setting the stage for a fight night that could include a crowd of 90,000 watching to see if the old man can turn back time.

Not surprisingly, he suggests he can.

"I think it's going to be a challenge for both of us," Klitschko told CBS Sports. "Not just for myself, to fight a young man, but also for Anthony as well. He has 18 fights so far, I'm going to be his 19th fight, and it's going to be different for him than positions he's been in before."

Indeed, the challenge for the 27-year-old Joshua is unlike any he's seen while fighting just 44 total rounds -- an average of fewer than three rounds per fight. Klitschko, on the other hand, put in 46 rounds across his last five fights alone and has 358 total rounds in a career that stretches back to 1996, when Joshua was in elementary school.

The Ukrainian is 64-4 with 53 KOs but hasn't fought since losing his IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO titles to Tyson Fury in November 2015. Fury's claim to the throne has splintered since he sought treatment for cocaine use and depression, including Joshua's claiming of the IBF title in April.

The vacant IBO and WBA belts will go to the Joshua-Klitschko winner, too.

"I had both guns cocked," Klitschko said. "I had them cocked for a year, and by the time I'll be in the ring, it's going to be a year-and-a-half since my last fight. I'm just looking forward to letting my energy go and actually shooting those guns. It was good to have a break, which I never had. I had time to regroup. I'm anxious and my motivation is high as the sky, so I'm totally juiced up and looking forward to getting in the ring."

Klitschko, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist, became a professional champion at age 24 but was considered an over-hyped commodity after surprise knockout losses in 2003 and 2004. He bounced back nicely, however, winning 22 consecutive fights across 11 years before the Fury upset.

He won and defended his IBF and IBO titles 18 times in that stretch, challenging the lofty reigns assembled by Hall of Fame ex-champions Joe Louis (25 defenses, 1937-48) and Larry Holmes (20, 1978-85).

Joshua won Olympic gold in 2012. He's sparred with Klitschko, who's often labeled him as the future of the heavyweight division.

"I see myself in him," Klitschko said. "I totally get what he is and that is an extremely talented fighter. He's an athlete. He is my size. He's like a copy of me. We're pretty much similar except for the age difference. I see myself in him and I have definitely been supportive of his talent and always, from the first day, was saying that I think he's an extremely talented athlete."

Klitschko added the WBA and WBO titles amid his lengthy reign but said that a victory over Joshua won't necessarily mean he'll restart a quest to unify the weight class. In fact, he claimed the pursuit of Joshua was because he considered the Englishman the premier fight in the division.

The Independent World Boxing Rankings, which include all fighters regardless of the belts they possess, still place Klitschko atop the division -- ahead of WBC champion Deontay Wilder (No. 3), WBO champ Joseph Parker (No. 5) and Joshua (No. 7).

"Who else would get Wembley Stadium full -- 90,000 fans full?" Klitschko said. "What other opponent or champion would create such an amount of pay-per-view [buys] on British soil and bring the finances as well? Which opponent would have such awareness worldwide? No one. Wilder? No way. Parker? No way. Who else but Anthony? I think it's all playing into our hands for Anthony and for myself to make this fight happen.

"I also like, (as a) matter of fact, that we do not throw fits in each other's face at the press conference, (or) chairs and tables. We don't promise to eat each other's children. All this nonsense. In this world that is full of nonsense, I think this is the highlight that people look forward to. And no other champions and no other heavyweights could have created that attention."