IBF champ Joshua unfazed by religious abuse

IBF world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua insists vile abuse sparked by a photo of him praying in a mosque won’t deter him from following his religious beliefs.

Joshua was barraged with sick taunts after posting a picture on social media of him in a Dubai mosque recently.

The 27-year-old Briton, who i s due t o f ig ht W l ad i mi r Klitschko at Wembley Stadium on April 29, was pictured in t he holy building participating in the afternoon prayer A sr, r e c it e d by pr ac t i s i ng Muslims.

Olympic gold medallist Joshua, not a Muslim himself, wrote: “Besides luck, hard work & talent, prayer is a solid foundation. It was nice to join my brother as he led through afternoon prayer.”

Born to Nigerian parents in Watford, Joshua has looked i nto ot her rel ig ions i n t he past, and he is adamant that he won’t be fazed by the internet abuse.

“You always have to go with what your spirit tells you not what people advise you. I’m a man that will always follow my own path,” he told ITV News London on Wednesday.

“One of my best friends is a Muslim guy and we were in Dubai, which is [in] an Islamic country.

“We were on a tour of Dubai and we went to the mosque and it was afternoon prayer so I asked him to pray for me ahead of the Klitschko fight, for goodwill.

“He asked me to join in and I joined in and someone took a picture and I took it from Instagram and posted it. Out of good faith.”

Appearing to reference boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who joined the Nation of Islam in 1964, Joshua added: “One of my idols in the boxing industry is Muslim. I didn’t think it would have the backlash.

“Religion is supposed to be a posit ive t hi ng. When you look at t he t r ue r el ig ions a rou nd t he world, not t he fundamentalists.

“I posted in that respect and it’s a shame it had that backlash, but I can’t control how people think. As long as my intentions are pure, that’s what counts.”