'I take the blame for throwing Anthony Joshua under the bus - it was a bit sad'

Amir Khan admits he has a 'professional' relationship with Anthony Joshua after he admitted to throwing the heavyweight star 'under the bus.'

Both Khan and Joshua were recently pictured together in Ghana - nearly a decade on after the latter took to social media to claim his wife Faryal Makhdoom had cheated on him with the two-time world champion. 'AJ' at the time denied the accusations, posting: “Bantz aside, I hope you guys can resolve your situation, or this is a hack as we have never even met!"

Khan hit back and said the messages did not come from a hacker. “Everything you saw on social media today is real,” he said. “Nothing’s been hacked. But yeah, what’s done is done. Everything I posted on social media today was true,” he added. Khan and Makhdoom exchanged verbal blows on Twitter before agreeing to separate. That said, they have since rekindled their marriage.

Recently, Khan provided an update on his relationship with Joshua and admits he made a 'mistake' and claims that they have in fact made up. Speaking to Covers, he said: "We’re both professional people, and we just moved on. It was all just a mistake, and it was all just rubbish, really.

"There was nothing true there. And, yeah, at the end of day it was a bit silly that I threw him under the bus over a message which wasn't really him. He was just coming up in the ranks then as well and, really, it was a bit sad that I did that at the time.

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“So, I take full blame for that little issue me and AJ. But the good thing about it was nothing was true and, obviously, me and him have made up and he came to my event in Ghana. We spent some time together, we chilled together, and we speak to each other on the phone here and there — on WhatsApp — so, we have a very professional relationship now and we keep it good.

“We have mutual friends, and they were in the same spot and the last time I sat with him in Dubai; it was after his loss against Usyk and out of the blue he just says: ‘Oh bro, one thing I want to say to you is you were an amazing fighter, Amir.’ It was quite shocking hearing that coming from one of the heavyweight greats in AJ. And he said, ‘I was watching one of your fights, I think against Judah, and bro, you boxed so well. He was a great fighter.’

"And it's nice to hear that from another champion, you know? I don't know if it works the same if another reporter comes to you and says your interviews are amazing, or the way you present yourself is amazing. But when another boxer comes to you who's a great fighter, and you've had issues with him in the past, but they come back and acknowledges and respects what you've done in the game — and he's done it at the highest level as well — it goes a long way."

The 38-year-old went on to show his class after stating Joshua put UK boxing back on the map after his career 'went down.' He concluded: “Definitely, yeah. We must respect each other at the end of day because, look, what you've done for boxing is massive. In 2004, boxing was lit up by me coming back from the Olympics and then after my career went down a little bit then AJ lifted it back up again in 2012."

When is Anthony Joshua's next fight?

Over the last few weeks, Eddie Hearn has revealed Joshua will have a fight before the end of the year. The boxing promoter hopes that his star client will settle the score with Fury once and for all, but admits 'AJ' is now looking to move on with his career.

In an interview with Sky Sports, when asked about the future of Joshua, Hearn replied: "Yeah, good, he had that operation recently... that elbow surgery, which went very well. You will see him return in October, November or December. We're looking for that opponent in the top ten. Deontay Wilder I think fights next week.

"I know he is a name that has been mentioned. For AJ, like I said, 2026 I think could be his last year in the sport and it seemed to get headlined, but what else do you expect? That is three or four fights away. He cannot go on forever! He is motivated. Physically feeling good now to return to camp and ready for one little last roll to this incredible career.

"Hopefully that involves a fight with Mr (Tyson) Fury. But after he is done parading his kilt around on Netflix, hopefully he joins us in the ring in 2026. It would be an incredible occasion for British boxing. But first thing is first, AJ will return during that period this year and obviously he must win and that performance will tell us a lot about the future of Anthony Joshua."