Anthony Joshua has "beef" with Ariel Helwani; shocked MMA journalist reacts - "My heart genuinely broke for you"
Anthony Joshua has suggested that he's had a "beef" with Ariel Helwani. In response, the MMA journalist expressed his surprise and put forth an argument in his defense.
Joshua, a former unified heavyweight champion boxer, is scheduled to fight former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The Joshua-Ngannou professional boxing bout will take place in Saudi Arabia in March 2024.
'AJ' appeared as a guest on the latest edition of The MMA Hour podcast hosted by Helwani. The Canadian-American journalist indicated that a few assertions by Joshua during their conversation hinted that he perhaps has an issue with him. He questioned the UK pugilist whether that was indeed the case.
Joshua responded by smilingly asserting that they're "not beefing" while contradictorily saying that they do have a beef until Helwani proves otherwise.
Helwani conveyed his astonishment and asked if he had said something that offended Joshua. The KO artist replied by emphasizing that he simply wants the journalist to believe in him.
Addressing that, Ariel Helwani acknowledged that he loves 'AJ's' aforesaid line of thought. He then harked back to the support he displayed for Joshua after the boxer's second defeat against Oleksandr Usyk in 2022. Helwani said:
"Anthony, after the second Usyk fight, my heart genuinely broke for you. And I hated the way the UK media and the UK fans were kicking you while you were down. And, in fact, I was in London, and I did a bunch of media. It was like two days after your fight. And I said, 'It blows me away how they don't back you, how they disrespect you, how they kick you while you're down. What more could you do for this country (England), and for this scene, and for this sport in the country.'"
"And I've had your back since then, but long before that. So, please, you know Francis is an MMA guy, we've got -- but I've had your back. And I'll send you that clip. And a lot of people gave me sh** for that, saying that you were done."
For his part, Joshua offered to "squash the beef," citing that it's a new year. Helwani concurred, and the duo seemed to lightheartedly bury the hatchet.
Watch Ariel Helwani and Anthony Joshua comment on their feud below (3:39):
Anthony Joshua looks to ward off Francis Ngannou en route possible undisputed title fight
The WBC and consensus lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is booked to face WBA (Super), WBO, IBF, IBO and The Ring heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Their highly anticipated matchup will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 17, 2024. Many foresee Anthony Joshua potentially facing its winner.
The Fury-Usyk showdown will determine boxing's new undisputed heavyweight champion in February. Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua's next opponent, Francis Ngannou, is fresh off a closely contested split decision loss against Fury.
The consensus is that should Joshua beat Ngannou in their fight in March, he could earn an undisputed title shot and fight the winner of Fury vs. Usyk next.