Anthony Joshua has joked that he might ban Drake from his dressing room, after admitting he has already fallen victim to his curse.

The rapper has developed a reputation for giving bad luck to several sports stars shortly after posing for pictures with them.

Joshua is determined to avoid suffering a similar fate when he defends his IBF, WBO and WBA Super world titles against Andy Ruiz Jr in New York on June 1.

It represents his first fight across the Atlantic and therefore there is an extra degree of pressure on the unified champ to put in an impressive performance. 

The 29-year-old said that he recently experienced bad luck after posting a picture on Instagram with Drake, and is determined not to risk repeating the mistake again.

After he took that picture, it was revealed that Jarrell Miller, who was Anthony Joshua’s original opponent, had tested positive for a banned substance, causing the fight to be cancelled and Ruiz to be drafted has a replacement.

During an appearance on The Michael Kay Show on ESPN, Joshua was asked whether Drake would be in attendance at Madison Square Garden before he heads to the ring.

“I know I shouldn’t. You know about the Drake curse? It’s real though," he replied, via The Mirror.

“This is what I’m saying, what’s weird though is I took a picture with Drake. We took it before (Jarrell) Miller got banned.

“Miller then had a drug test and got popped. The fight got cancelled!”

The most recent victim was Paris St-Germain’s left-back Layvin Kurzawa, who saw his team being beaten by Lille 5-1, after the defender posted a picture with Drake.

Jadon Sancho, Serena Williams, Sergio Aguero and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are among the other big names to have suffered shortly after meeting the famous music artist.