CLAIMS WON’T WASH WITH AJ

ANTHONY JOSHUA says he does not know what sportswashing is after being challenged over his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia.

Joshua and Usyk

(right) will share a £65million pot for ‘The Rage on the Red Sea’ in Jeddah on August 20, with the Saudis trying to improve their global image by funding major sporting events.

But Joshua (top), 32, insists he is just focussed on winning back his WBA Super, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles.

He beat Andy Ruiz Jr in Diriyah in 2019 in his previous fight in the

Kingdom and says he likes the Middle East country, claiming it is “good”.

When quizzed over the sportswashing allegations, the two-time world champ insisted: “I don’t know what that is.

“I’m here to win the heavyweight champion of the world. I like Saudi. I think Saudi’s good. I’m having a good time here. I’m treated really well.” Ukrainian Usyk, 35, spent a month in his homeland as a volunteer fighter. “My friends, people close to me, have died in the war,” said the unbeaten two-weight world champ. “I saw with my own eyes what happened there.”