ANTHONY JOSHUA will never forgive the celeb fake fans who ditched him after his shock KO loss to Andy Ruiz Jr.
AJ was the darling of the chat-show circuit with stars from sport, TV, film and music desperate to be ringside and backstage for his run of 22 victories.
But he noticed too many A-listers dropped him quicker than Ruiz did in his disastrous US debut in June 2019.
The Watford fighter regained the WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles before Christmas that year — but left the hangers-on in his past.
Joshua, 31, said afterwards: “I always keep my childhood pals close, I have never been a celebrity brown-noser.
I always keep my childhood pals close, I have never been a celebrity brown-noser.
“When you have a No 1 record, a No 1 film or are a boxing champion and it all goes downhill, the celebrities are on to the next thing.
“But when you are with your people, who know you for you, nothing really changes. It was the people spectating from a distance who had a lot to say.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I know who I am and as I get older I am getting stronger and more resilient — no one will ever be able to break me.”
Joshua is preparing for his next fight against Kubrat Pulev on December 12 in London – which will take place in front of 1,000 fans.
Eddie Hearn previously insisted his star attraction would not fight the IBF’s mandatory challenger behind closed doors.
And when the news was confirmed last week, the Matchroom promoter gushed: “I can’t tell you how happy I am to see fans returning to our live boxing events.
“Whilst the team have done an incredible job over the last ten months we live and breathe through the energy and atmosphere that a live crowd generates.
“It’s so fitting that they can return for an AJ fight, when through the last few years he has broken all kinds of attendance records in the UK and beyond.”
Joshua dedicated the first weeks of this year’s lockdown to his family.
But he gave up on homeschooling his son JJ after getting an email from his private school.
He joked: “In the first week I was Superdad — I was coming down the stairs with a cape on.
“But then I got slapped with an email invoice for school fees and I thought ‘Woah, if I am paying fees then these teachers best be doing their jobs as well’.
“The home schooling was taken off me after a couple of weeks but his mum does a great job with him.”
