‘Go f*ck yourself!’
Joshua fires back!

The unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has angrily hit back at critics after being accused of being a racist following his attendance at a peaceful BLM protest in his home town of Watford.

In front of thousands, Joshua read out a speech on behalf of someone who could not attend the event which was captured on film. The video was edited and shared to make it look like the comments were his own and it quickly went viral, prompting many to accuse Joshua of being racist.

The champion took to social media to give a stern response.

If you think I’m a racist, go f*ck yourself!
If you watch the full video, the speech was passed around for someone to read and I took the lead.
I personally spoke from the heart about the Watford community, ideas of us personally investing 7 figures to create unity and opportunities and adding change to the African / Caribbean community.
Shops aren’t the issue here.
Before you talk sh*t you better boycott racism.
I said what I said and I will act to make a change.

Joshua also responded to people concerned with social distancing and COVID-19 whilst at the protest.

‘I understand the concerns in regards to social distancing,’ said Joshua ‘However I hope those who are complaining about social distancing have the same energy about those gathering for a day at the beach [and] those going to the park for a picnic.’

His attendance at the weekend saw him arrive in a knee brace sustained whilst running and is believed to need 2-3 weeks to recover. This latest set back will likely further delay his mandatory defense against Bulgarian, Kubrat Pulev which was originally planned for June 20, before the Coronavirus struck.

‘I bust my knee running miles in the woods. Doc said [to] take all weight off it for two/three weeks. Still training, still active, still punching. Two weeks to [go], then it’s off.’

Despite Joshua playing down the injury, heavyweight contender Charles Martin is said to be monitoring the situation as he is next in line for the IBF belt. Martin lost his IBF strap to Joshua back in 2016 via a second-round knockout which gave the Brit his first taste of a world title. Most fans will want to see Joshua make a speedy recovery, get back to action as soon as possible, and potentially set up one of the biggest fights ever for the undisputed heavyweight title against fellow brit, Tyson Fury.

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Noah Abrahams articles