Anthony Joshua, in the eyes of the media and your average British boxing fan, is the complete opposite of Tyson Fury.Unlike his controversial compatriot, Joshua always appears polite, courteous, he says all the right things in public, doesn’t go out of his way to cause mischief and is extremely media friendly.He comes across as boxing’s equivalent of David Beckham. Inoffensive and loved by everyone. The complete package.However, Joshua has found himself in hot water on a couple of occasions this month.First he uncharacteristically told Fury to “get fit you fat f***” on Twitter, and then last week screenshots emerged of messages sent from his Instagram account to Eddie Chambers.
Chambers leaked the screenshots on Twitter
Chambers, a heavyweight whose last major fight was against Wladimir Klitschko in 2010, leaked the abusive screenshots on social media for the rest of the world to see.
One of the messages sent from Joshua’s account called Chambers a “disgrace to the superior black race”.
Promoter Eddie Hearn denied the messages were sent from Joshua’s account but Chambers posted a video proving they had been.
Joshua suddenly had some serious explaining to do.
Joshua's camp claim AJ was hacked
His camp later insisted that Joshua had been hacked and little has been said since.
Frank Warren has made a perfectly fair point
However, Frank Warren has made a perfectly fair point in his latest Daily Star column, expressing his surprise at his quickly the issue has been swept under the carpet.
“Anthony Joshua’s Instagram account has been a point of controversy this week,” Warren commented. “The WBA, IBO and IBF heavyweight champion’s team say he was hacked after his official account sent abusive messages to former fighter Eddie Chambers.
“One of the messages included the phrase ‘disgrace to the superior black race’.
“What has surprised me is how quickly – even though he says he was hacked – it has been brushed under the carpet. If Tyson Fury or Billy Joe Saunders were caught up in something like this, can you imagine the public outcry for an investigation?
“It will be interesting to see if the British Boxing Board of Control investigate it further.”
Hard to argue with that, isn't it?
It’s hard to argue against the idea that the backlash against a boxer like Fury or Saunders, if they found themselves involved in similar controversy, would have been more severe.
The majority of people appear to accept the explanation from Joshua’s camp and it’s likely that we’ll hear no more about it over the coming weeks and months.
Is Frank Warren right? Has the issue been swept under the carpet? Have your say by leaving a comment below?