Johnny Nelson believes criticism of Anthony Joshua must be taken in the context of remarks by Tyson Fury.
WBA heavyweight world champion Fury has made a number of controversial comments in the past which Nelson referred to when discussing the reaction to Joshua’s post-fight outburst after his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua has admitted that he left himself down when grabbing the microphone in Jeddah and former cruiserweight title-holder Nelson has claimed some of the reaction has been over the top.
“We’ve all been through that and anyone from the outside looking in would think we are crazy,” he told talkSPORT.
“This was one of those moments that had spilt out and the public had seen it. I’m quite sure he’d had mini-meltdowns in training camp with frustration. His camp have seen this.
“Now the public have seen it. Now the reality of that behaviour and mentality has kicked in. He was just being human. He’s getting criticised for it.
“Let’s not forget the things Tyson Fury has said and done in the past, people have developed amnesia. Now he’s a hero. He had to go through a period of finding himself. Anthony Joshua has just hit that period now.
“We have to give him credit. It was a stupid thing to do and I understand his frustrations. People are forgetting about how well he boxed. They are forgetting how well Usyk did. The talk is about afterwards instead of the fight.”
