Anthony Joshua has come in for criticism for an alleged use of racist language in an Instagram exchange with American heavyweight Eddie Chambers.
Chambers, a fighter with a professional record of 42-5, posted a video earlier this week which showed an apparent direct message back-and-forth with ‘AJ’.
A message from Joshua’s account referred to Chambers as a “disgrace to the superior black race.”
@coachanthony01 & I on my Instagram to show proof of real @anthonyfjoshua talking shit randomly in DM!! ..@EddieHearn 🤔 pic.twitter.com/D0TsLxmTXw
— Eddie Chambers (@champfasteddie) November 17, 2017
While Joshua has yet to personally address the situation, representatives from his camp have claimed that the Watford fighter’s account was hacked and that the messages didn’t come from Joshua himself.
Regarding Anthony Joshua 'racist' messages to Eddie Chambers, his team are saying he was hacked.
— Riath Al-Samarrai (@riathalsam) November 18, 2017
Promoter Eddie Hearn had initially claimed that the messages came from a fake account, not Joshua’s, but that has been proven false.
It's fake – look at spaces between underscore
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) November 16, 2017
In recent weeks, we’ve seen a different side of Joshua when he went on a bizarre Twitter tirade against his rivals, as well as boxing journalist Kugan Cassius.
Joshua told Tyson Fury to “get fit, you fat fuck” before explaining why he felt the need to hit out at the controversial heavyweight.
“I try to be professional but remember this is a fighting sport and you have to meet fire with fire now and again. Sometimes if a dog barks at you so many times, the other dog needs to bite back and make sure the other dog puts his tail between his legs. And that’s what you have to do with Tyson Fury sometimes. And that’s all it was, I just had to bite back,” Joshua told Sport 360.
“I’m not one of these dogs that stay in the garden barking for hours, I make my noise — and that’s it — until we fight I don’t need to be hollering and yelling for days and for months. That’s not what I like to do. I address the situation and I put it into the back of my mind. I address what’s relevant.
“That’s why I’m like, 2018, even though there’s a lot of talk — in reality, isn’t going to be like Joseph Parker, Wilder and Tyson Fury all in one year. Anthony Joshua has to face all of them but what’s Wilder’s plans after he fights Anthony Joshua? Everyone’s following my career but everyone else is managing their own career how is best for them.”
