Anthony Joshua blames "physical and mental fatigue" for speeding: "My schedule has been extremely demanding"
Earlier this year, Anthony Joshua was caught overspeeding on the A26 in East Sussex by a police officer, and the heavyweight boxer believes his training regime is to blame.
In May, Joshua was stopped for allegedly doing 44 mph in a 30 mph zone in his Range Rover and faced the risk of being handed a driving ban. In the aftermath, he wrote to the court apologizing for his actions and pointed out that he was a professional athlete who was involved in an intense training camp at the time.
Per court documents, 'AJ' apologized for speeding and suggested that "physical and mental fatigue" was to blame for his lapse in judgment. He wrote:
"I am a professional athlete, currently in the middle of a very intense training camp. My schedule has been extremely demanding, and I was traveling to or from a training session at the time and date of the offense. The physical and mental fatigue from my training may have clouded my judgment, leading to this lapse in concentration." [H/t: Independent]
As per the Evening Standard, Joshua was reportedly ordered to pay an overall £1,167 in fines by the Hastings Magistrate's court and four penalty points on his license. However, it appears he's avoided a driving ban.
When Anthony Joshua got into legal trouble for cannabis possession
In 2011, Anthony Joshua was among England's most exciting boxing prospects and was highly touted to win gold as part of the Team GB Olympic squad in 2012. However, he risked it all after getting caught with a sizeable amount of cannabis while driving around in his luxury sedan.
Joshua was arrested after undercover police officers found the narcotics hidden in his sports bag in North West London. The former heavyweight champion was ultimately charged with possession of nine ounces with intent to supply a class B drug. After submitting a guilty plea, he was handed a non-custodial sentence of 100 unpaid hours of community service and a 12-month community order.
'AJ' later opened up about learning lessons from his ordeal and how it helped him make some important changes in life. He said:
"I done my community service, I got banned from the Olympic team though, which was a tough time. I learned how to get smarter, I changed my car, too flash, and that's why I think now, as a boxer, I know how to keep low-key. I learned the art of bouncing back, most important." [H/t: talkSPORT]
Joshua is coming off a fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in an IBF heavyweight title fight last weekend.