How did Anthony Joshua escape drug charges ahead of 2012 Olympics? Lawyer revisits changing the judge's mind
Anthony Joshua's lawyer has revealed how he got the judge to change his mind about the boxer's drug charge ahead of the 2012 Olympics.
Leading up to the quadrennial event, 'AJ' was found to be in possession of an illegal substance with the intent to supply. At the time, Joshua was just 21 years old and was at risk of having his boxing career potentially destroyed because of the charges.
However, Anthony Joshua eventually managed to escape the charges with the help of criminal barrister Tony Wyatt. Wyatt fought the case for 'AJ' and managed to convince the judge to change his mind and charge Joshua for just the possession of drugs instead of supply.
It allowed Joshua to continue his boxing journey and fight in the Olympics. Interestingly, the judges agreed and the former heavyweight champion was sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work and managed to get his license back as well.
While revisiting the story during an appearance on Anything Goes With James English, Tony Wyatt said:
"The punishment would've ended his career, the punishment would've, he would never have fought in the Europeans. Without fighting in the Europeans he couldn't have fought in the Olympics, etc, etc. So on the back of all of that, I just fronted that up to the judge and said, the reality is we'll have to fight this case and then lose this case."
He continued:
"But if he was to plead guilty to possession which obviously he's guilty of as well, you could give him the harshest possible period of unpaid work, that would allow him to get his license back, it would allow him to fight in the Europeans, it would allow him to fight in the Olympics, it will allow him in future to fight in America which he could never have done if he had a supply on his record."
Catch Tony Wyatt's comments below (3:30):
Anthony Joshua drug charges: When is 'AJ' fighting again?
The past few years have been quite tough for Anthony Joshua. Having lost three of his last five fights, the former heavyweight champion is certainly eager to make his way back to the top.
Anthony Joshua was most recently seen in action against Jermaine Franklin in April earlier this year where he managed to secure a unanimous decision victory. A lot has been said about his next fight since then and while 'AJ' was supposed to fight again in the middle of the year, it has since been announced that Joshua will not be fighting until December.