Anthony Joshua feels attacked by former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, and has no intention of patching things up after labeling him a clown.
Joshua made the surprise comment about Lewis last month, also stating that he doesnt respect the retired fighter and that they are cut from a different cloth.
The 29-year-old is adamant that he has ultimate respect for Lewis as a boxer, but feels attacked unnecessarily by the 1988 Olympic gold medalist.
Not for his boxing, AJ told reporters. The mans a beast when it comes to boxing. Weve got his pictures all up in my gym. When we talk about boxing, I respect that. But when we sit around a table as men, I just talk about how I want to appreciate the younger generation when Im done with boxing, and sit back and appreciate talent.
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And negotiation issues that some of these guys might go through, because I know theyre going to go through it as well.
But I just feel like when its come to me, its kind of different. “Anthonys dodging”, “Anthonys not this”, “He needs to do that”. And Im just saying, whys he always coming attacking me rather than reaching out like [Wladimir] Klitschko does and giving a young man advice when I need it?
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Joshua is in training for his rematch with Andy Ruiz in December, when he will attempt to regain his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles in Saudi Arabia.
However, this ongoing feud with Lewis is causing something of a distraction, with Joshua admitting that he has felt picked on by the 54-year-old.
Yeah, I did feel like that. And Im not two-faced, so as I say, poke me and sooner or later youll hear what I have to say about you. I just noticed its a kind of ongoing occurrence, people always talk, talk, talk and then as soon as I say something its like boom, it explodes.
I dont really get involved in boxing circles, so I dont need to call Lennox. Ive got my mentors and Ive got my people.
Lewis had tried to play down the beef last month, tweeting: Disappointed in AJs words but I understand that this “jealousy” narrative was only fabricated AFTER I criticized them for Wilder negotiations. All of the sudden Im a hater. Ask who benefits from such a simple minded narrative? Not AJ. Not me.
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