Heavyweight champion on the defensive in Khan ‘divorce’
Anthony Joshua fends off suggestion of affair with fellow boxer’s wife, saying: ‘We have never even met’
THEY may never meet in the ring, but two of Britain’s greatest boxers went toe to toe on social media yesterday in a row over a woman.
Anthony Joshua was forced to defend himself after
Amir Khan apparently dragged him into a public spat over his wife, Faryal Makhdoom, whom Joshua says he has “never even met”.
A series of increasingly bitter messages were posted on 30-year-old Khan’s verified Twitter account yesterday in which it was said that he and his wife “agreed to split”.
Joshua, 27, was then tagged in a post, which read: “Faryal moved on quick. Always mentioned to me how much she wanted to be with another guy, from all people another boxer.”
The messages on the former light-welterweight world champion’s account then joked that she had “moved up in the weight classes” before adding “Mans [men] like Joshua can have my left overs”.
The world heavyweight champion responded by posting the video to the song It Wasn’t Me by Shaggy. He wrote: “Bantz [banter] aside, I hope you guys can resolve your situation or this is a hack as we have never even met!” Khan’s Twitter account has previously been targeted by hackers, as has that of his 26-year-old, New York- born wife. While social media users rubbed their hands with glee as they followed the escalating row, messages posted to Makhdoom’s Twitter account also hit back at the claims. Khan apparently wrote: “Left my family and friends for this Faryal. I’m not hurt but another fighter. I’m making it public. You getting the divorce.” Minutes later, his wife’s account responded, telling him: “Stop making false things up.” Tweets, later deleted, continued: “After all these years. I’ve always defended a cheat, always stuck around for him, always had his back. And I’m called a gold digger? The amount of evidence I have on you. It can destroy you. But since I loved you at one point in my life. I’ll just let it go.” Retweeting the allegations surrounding Joshua, she added: “You have actually lost it … where do u make this stuff up from? [sic]”
She later said of her husband: “I think he needs some attention because boxing hasn’t been going well for
‘I hope you guys can resolve your situation or this is a hack as we have never even met!’
him so he’s been acting up. Sometimes people don’t like it when you give them a taste of their own medicine.”
In a Snapchat video last night, Khan confirmed his account had not been hacked. “Everything you saw on social media, it is real. Me and Faryal have decided to move on and walk away. Nothing has been hacked,” he said.
“We have to move forward it’s not healthy for any of us. I wish her all the best in the future … What’s done is done, it’s all true.”
His wife shot back: “Shocked at Amir’s response. Disgusted and clearly it’s not him talking …
“Trying to ruin someone’s life like this is a low blow. Especially someone who’s been there through every cheating scandal and stuck by your side when your own parents screwed you over. It’s OK. I’ll stay quiet. I won’t let YOUR dirty laundry out in the public. Because I’m better than that.”
The couple married in New York in 2013 and their daughter Lamaisah was born in May 2014. Makhdoom has been involved in Twitter arguments with Khan’s family in the past year, with Khan standing by his wife.
As of July 2013, Khan’s net worth was £23 million ($31 million). In 2014, he earned £11.5million, making him the sixth highest-earning boxer of that year.