Anthony Joshua has spoken out on the two-faced nature he’s experienced in the boxing business, and used Carl Froch and Amir Khan as prime examples.
As one of Britain’s biggest sporting superstars, ‘AJ’ has come under a level of scrutiny and analysis not many others experience since early on in his career.
Whilst there has been praise – and plenty of it – the former two-time world heavyweight champion is also often criticised by the sport’s pundits.
It’s something that he doesn’t see it as constructive, as per comments via the Mail.
“These people don’t get me. Not on my wavelength. Not at my level. I don’t use boxing as a platform to rant and rave and disrespect other fighters.
If these people have something to say, say it to me. They have my number. Call me. If I have something to say about about you , I’ll say it face to face.
I won’t talk about my enemies online. I prefer to stay silent. These people want me to talk back but why should I get dragged in by clowns?”
Joshua went on to give two specific examples of people saying one thing to the media before acting differently in person.
“When it was Carl talking s*** about me I messaged him direct to ask what it was all about. When it was Amir and that s*** about me with his wife why did he go online? At least message me.
And then when I see these guys at a fight or somewhere they’re coming up and saying ‘hi AJ how are you?’ How does that work?”
As an active analyst, Froch has often commented on Joshua and his place on the current heavyweight scene – including questioning his dedication and criticising his actions after his Oleksandr Usyk rematch.
The inclusion of Amir Khan dates back to 2016, when the welterweight was going through ‘mad times’ and took to social media to accuse Joshua of having an affair with his wife – something the heavyweight immediately denied. Khan has since said he regrets the exchange.
All eyes will be on Joshua once more this weekend as he returns to the ring to face American Jermaine Franklin – a fight that most in the sport see as ‘make or break’ for the superstar.