ANTHONY JOSHUA will never forgive the celeb fake fans who ditched him after his shock KO loss to Andy Ruiz Jr.
AJ was the darling of the chat-show circuit with stars from sport, TV, film and music desperate to be ringside and backstage for his run of 22 victories.
AJ was stunned when he suffered a shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr last yearCredit: AFP or licensors
But he noticed too many A-listers dropped him quicker than Ruiz did in his disastrous US debut in June last year.
The Watford fighter regained the WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles before Christmas — but has left the hangers-on in his past.
Joshua, 30, said: “I always keep my childhood pals close, I have never been a celebrity brown-noser.
“When you have a No 1 record, a No 1 film or are a boxing champion and it all goes downhill, the celebrities are on to the next thing.
“But when you are with your people, who know you for you, nothing really changes. It was the people spectating from a distance who had a lot to say.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I know who I am and as I get older I am getting stronger and more resilient — no one will ever be able to break me.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn is working on an audacious plan to bring world title boxing back in July, with fan-free bouts held in the grounds of his Matchroom office HQ in Essex.
I always keep my childhood pals close, I have never been a celebrity brown-noser.
Hearn insists his star attraction will not fight the IBF’s mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev behind closed doors.
But Joshua cannot see any way around the problem. He added: “I could tell you me and Pulev are going to do a small hall with loads of testing but the gyms are not even open.
“Until the government gives it the go-ahead, I don’t see how it can work.
“Unless we put a ring in a car park and people can watch from their cars.”
Joshua dedicated the first weeks of lockdown to his family.
But he gave up on homeschooling his son JJ after getting an email from his private school.
He joked: “In the first week I was Superdad — I was coming down the stairs with a cape on.
“But then I got slapped with an email invoice for school fees and I thought ‘Woah, if I am paying fees then these teachers best be doing their jobs as well’.
“The home schooling was taken off me after a couple of weeks but his mum does a great job with him.”
Anthony Joshua won back his title belts from the Mexican in DecemberCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Meanwhile, Dillian Whyte has again called on Tyson Fury to finally give him the crack at the WBC title he earned way back in 2017.
The Brixton boxer, 32, moaned: “It makes me angry because Tyson Fury refused to fight me in a mandated fight for the WBC diamond belt.
“The fans and the boxing world need to put pressure on the WBC and Tyson Fury to fight me next. It’s a joke.”
Anthony Joshua says he will go down in history as ‘the greatest’
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
