Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has been condemned as dangerous, reckless and stupid by boxing icon Johnny Nelson after sharing social media footage of golf buggy stunts in the Dominican Republic.
The 36-year-old Briton caught heat after filming himself racing golf buggies with friends and appearing to attempt to climb between two moving vehicles. The stunt comes eight months after Joshua survived a fatal car crash near Lagos that claimed the lives of two of his closest friends.
Joshua captioned the video "Loser do 100 press-ups" while on holiday in the Caribbean before beginning preparations for his long-awaited blockbuster showdown against compatriot Tyson Fury.
Johnny Nelson Criticism
Former world cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson expressed dismay over the social media video, telling Boxing King Media that it begs belief that Joshua believed he should post the clip online for his followers.
Nelson recalled his immediate reaction upon seeing the footage: "I saw it, and I put my head in my hands. I thought, 'what are you thinking? What are you doing, man?'"
Drawing a comparison to parenting discipline, Nelson added: "I know you're young, I know you want to live life, but to understand what's just happened to you... As a parent, I'd think: you know, I cussed out my daughter, she was in Bali, on the back of a motorbike without permission. I cussed out my daughter. And it reminded me of what happened with AJ over the Christmas period."
Directly questioning the heavyweight boxer's decision-making, Nelson said: "And then I see AJ doing this. I'm like, 'you're not thinking. What is wrong with you?' And regardless of how much you try and play it off, thinking, 's***, I probably shouldn't have posted that', you shouldn't have been doing that thing."
Nelson noted that public perception would turn against Joshua following the stunt: "It looked dangerous, it looked reckless. And people have looked and thought: 'You know what, this guy must have been through it.' Now people are thinking, 'you're an idiot'. And he's got to think, 'maybe I've got to fall on my sword here. It's a stupid thing I did.'"
The former champion urged Joshua's parents to intervene: "Post it or not, it was just a stupid thing to do. It had danger written all over it, you can see the worst-case scenario. When I saw it, I thought like a parent; I thought: 'I hope your old man has a word with you, I hope your mum cusses you out. I just hope they have a strong word with you, because that was reckless, irresponsible and dangerous.'"
Nelson warned that Joshua could not be pissed off with people who criticised the post, stressing: "After everything that's happened, to do something like that, it begs belief. You've got people's pity, you've got people's understanding. And then you do something like that."
Fatal Nigeria Car Accident
The criticism comes eight months after Joshua was involved in a fatal car accident in Nigeria last December, occurring just ten days after he defeated YouTuber-turned-boxing star Jake Paul.
Joshua was being driven along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, known as one of Nigeria's deadliest roads, when his SUV crashed into a stationary truck. His best friends and key team members, Sina Ghami and Latif "Latz" Ayodele, were both killed in the collision.
The former champion narrowly escaped major injury or worse after switching to sit behind the driver on the back seat on the left-hand side of the car. Joshua was pulled from the wreckage and admitted to hospital with minor injuries.
Joshua has been deeply affected by the loss of his friends and the trauma of surviving the crash. Before his ring return in late July against Kristian Prenga, Joshua admitted he had spent months suppressing the pain of their deaths.
He stepped into the ring for the Prenga fight wearing his friends' names on pennants pinned to his chest. Following the bout, Joshua broke down during his post-fight interview, crediting Ayodele and Ghami for getting him through a tough first round before quietly saying, "I don't want to talk about it anymore."
Tributes and Legacy Commitments
Joshua has repeatedly honoured the memory of his fallen companions. In February, he added the names "LATZ" and "SINA" to the tattoo outline of Africa on his bicep.
A month earlier, in January, Joshua posted an emotional Instagram video outlining his dedication to supporting the families of Ayodele and Ghami and continuing their legacy.
In the video, Joshua told fans: "My goal is to help their families and to help them achieve their goals, even though they may not be here in the physical. I will be saying my prayers, and I'm going to help them fulfill their dreams for their families. It's not only me though helping. There's a whole team working on that stuff."
Joshua described the broader effort underway: "There is a whole system that will be helping fulfill their legacy, fulfill their dreams. But I know in my corner of the world, I know what I'm doing, and I know what we're gonna do to continue there."
Describing the deceased pair as brothers and vital team members, Joshua added: "I'm gonna do what's right by their family. It's about what's important to me, and they're very important players, very important team, with very important friends and two of my brothers."
Expressing appreciation for worldwide condolences, Joshua said: "So yeah, I don't think I've mentioned the love and appreciation. It's all acknowledged by me, by them, by their families. 100 per cent we acknowledge the 1000s, maybe going into millions around the world that show so much love to them both. I still can't get my head around it."
Joshua concluded his message directly to their parents: "We heard you all, we saw the messages, the tweets, the social media, the YouTubes, the prayers, it's all been acknowledged. So yeah, we know what we're going to do. Mumma Latz, Mumma Sina, Pappa Latz, Pappa Sina, one love."
Tyson Fury Fight Announcement
The controversy surrounding Joshua's golf buggy video surfaced hours after it was announced that Joshua and Tyson Fury are understood to have signed contracts to fight on November 20 in New York.
Fury teased the fight announcement on social media on Tuesday morning, telling followers: "Big news being dropped very, very soon. A big fight on the horizon. It's the one you've all been waiting for. It's about to be announced imminently so stay tuned!"
Sources close to negotiations told Daily Mail Sport that the blockbuster bout is finalized, with New York's historic Madison Square Garden agreed as the venue. Those familiar with discussions noted that while both fighters and Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, pushed for a UK homecoming fight, they were ultimately unable to secure a domestic site.
However, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn told Daily Mail Sport that work remains to be done on the deal, insisting no agreement has yet been reached to alter Joshua's contract terms requiring the fight to be staged in Britain.
