Amir Khan has revealed that he now bitterly regrets accusing Anthony Joshua of having an affair with his wife and losing a close friend, conceding that his fellow boxer did nothing wrong.
Khan claimed he was dealing with a variety of personal issues when he ‘flipped’ and overreacted after receiving an innocuous message from the heavyweight fighter to his wife Faryal Makhdoom.
Bolton fighter Khan caused a stir when he tweeted in 2017 that he was getting divorced and accused his wife of being a ‘golddigger’, writing: ‘So myself and the wife Faryal have agreed to split. I am currently in Dubai. I wish her the best. Faryal moved quickly. She often told me how much she wanted to be with another person, especially another boxer, @AnthonyFJoshua.
Khan stated on Gary Neville’s show that he made a bad mistake that he still doesn’t comprehend.
Khan, 35, stated: “I was in the papers for crazy stuff – messing around with women, chilling out with this girl, chilling out with that girl.” I was going through a difficult time myself. I wanted to leave my wife then.
‘I had a disagreement with Anthony Joshua, which I feel terrible about because, at the end of the day, I put him on the firing line for no reason.
Amir Khan admits he regrets accusing ‘friend’ Anthony Joshua of having an affair with his wife
Khan (centre) publicly accused Joshua (right) of the affair on Twitter back in 2017
‘I mean he was a friend of mine and since then we’ve never spoken.
‘So I lost a good friend through that as well.’
Asked if it still gets to him, he replied: ‘Yeah. The guy did nothing wrong and I kind of stuck it on him really.’
The 35-year-old accused Joshua after he sent a message to Khan’s wife (right).
When asked if he now knew why he did it, he replied, “No.” So my wife – we weren’t communicating – sent a message saying, “Look, so many fighters messaging me”.
‘And I lost it after she showed me a message from Anthony Joshua saying hello to her or something.
‘I said, “Who the hell is he, saying hello to my wife?” even if he was fine with me.
Both men shared photos on their social media after linking up while on respective holidays
Khan suffered a technical knock-out defeat in his 2022 grudge match against Kell Brook
The former boxer was speaking on an episode of the Overlap with Gary Neville
‘Maybe he was just being respectful, all he was was being respectful. Nothing ever happened.
‘I just flipped out on everyone.
‘And all my mates were “are you mad, you just tweeted something”.
‘But he’s a nice guy. Even his own personal friends were calling me.
‘I was like “no, don’t want to talk to you guys”.
He later announced his retirement from boxing in May with a record of 34 wins from 40 bouts
‘I had to come through that difficult patch because at that time when I needed people’s help they weren’t there for me.
‘So I wanted to then do things myself my way. I become too selfish. I started making a lot of mistakes.
‘I started turning nasty – becoming a bad person really. It was never me and I was never happy with myself doing all this stuff.
Khan and wife Faryal Makhdoom featured in a reality series called “Meet the Khans”
‘I was really upset deep down. I was hurt and I was in a very, very bad position at that time.’
In his infamous tweet accusing Joshua, Khan also wrote: ‘Lol moved up in the weight classes lol. Trust me I ain’t the jealous type. No need to send me pictures of the men you’re talking to #Disgusted.
‘Left my family and friends for this Faryal. I’m not hurt but another fighter. I’m making it public. You getting the divorce #Golddigger. Mans like Joshua can have my leftovers!’
Joshua immediately denied the allegations, simply tweeting the same day a video from Shaggy’s famous song ‘It Wasn’t Me.’ And when asked by a fan this year if there was any truth in it, Joshua joked: ‘Honestly I didn’t. With all the accusations around me name I wish I did.’
Joshua denied the allegations at the time and reiterated his position when asked in 2022
Amir Khan wears shirt emblazoned with crowns on night out with wife
