Anthony Joshua surprised boxing fans last week when he sent tweets to Joseph Parker, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.Those trio are, of course, eager to face Joshua in 2018 in an attempt to claim his IBF, WBA (Super) and IBO heavyweight belts.And each has challenged AJ to a fight - either on social media or in interviews - and got a response last week.“.@joeboxerparker Sips tea, continues to read tweets & refreshes email.. Still No Offer,” Joshua said to Parker, the current WBO champion.
Joshua then linked Wilder to an interview he had given to iFL TV in which he discussed a fight against the American, also telling Wilder to make him an offer.
Last but not least, his tweet to Fury. You’ve probably seen it - it has been retweeted 65,000 times at the time of asking.
“& @Tyson_Fury get fit you fat fuck,” he wrote.
Wow.
Joshua has been criticised for dropping an F-bomb
Fans immediately wondered if Joshua had been hacked. The 28-year-old hasn’t been the type to engage in Twitter spats so to send such a savage tweet to Fury was stunning.
Joshua is viewed as a role model and he’s seen received some criticism for swearing.
Bellew has defended him
But Tony Bellew has come to his defence by labelling the criticism “sad and pathetic”.
“Anthony has always been Anthony, I just can’t understand why everyone gave him so much grief for swearing on Twitter,” Bellew wrote in his column for the Metro.
“He swore, so what? I just don’t get it. He’s a young man and what I find disturbing is people trying to drag him down, hurting his profile. It’s sad and pathetic.
“Headlines like: ‘This is the real Anthony Joshua.’ Show me when he’s changed? He’s always been the same.
“He’s swore before in interviews. He’s just had enough of being called names and labelled a runner.
“I mean, what he said about Tyson Fury, ‘get fit you fat f***’, he’s not telling lies is he?”
Usually so calm and mild mannered, Joshua showed last week that he’s not going to accept being labelled a weightlifter, as Fury repeatedly refers to him as, lightly.