Kubrat Pulev has apologised after making a comment regarding Anthony Joshua’s ‘tan’ earlier this week.
The 39-year-old Bulgarian will battle it out it with Joshua for his WBA, IBF and WBO titles, with the fight set to take place on December 12 after it was initially postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
And ahead of the pair’s upcoming title fight, Pulev was asked about his verdict on Joshua – in which he made a controversial comment about his opponent’s skin colour.
“His strengths? I’d say he has a very powerful punch undeniably,’ said Pulev during a press conference.
“What are his other strengths? His tan is better than mine.”
Pulev has since come in for criticism and has now released a statement.
“I would never, under any circumstances, allow myself to show disrespect to another human being on racial, ethnic or religious grounds,” the 39-year-old said.
“If somebody has been offended by my words, I hope they would try to understand exactly what I meant by them and if they cannot understand me, then accept my sincere apology.”
Joshua – who is of Nigerian and Irish ancestry – has been a big advocate of the Black Lives Matter movement in the fight against racism in society.
Joshua even delivered a powerful speech as he showed his support for the movement when he joined a protest march in his home town of Watford. The world champion joined hundreds of others on the peaceful protest.
And following Pulev’s comments regarding Joshua, many boxing fans let their feelings be known on social media.
