Anthony Joshua sends support to Oleksandr Usyk after heavyweight champion returns to Ukraine following Russian invasion

Anthony Joshua has sent his support to Oleksandr Usyk after the Ukrainian returned to his homeland following the Russian invasion.

Usyk, who defeated Joshua to become the IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight champion last year, has pleaded with Russian president Vladimir Putin to put a halt to the invasion of his homeland.

Joshua is poised to fight Usyk for a second time later this year having activated his rematch clause following his defeat in London in September.

But with the champion focusing on more important matters than sport, Joshua has praised him for taking up a prominent role in decrying the ongoing conflict.

‘I’ve learned sports and politics go hand in hand,’ Joshua told IFL TV.

‘They are powerful voices and it is good they are speaking up.

‘They are not pushing for war, they are saying let’s find peace so good luck to them.’

After leaving London last Thursday, Usyk issued a rallying cry to his country while also urging the Russian people to make their own protests known.

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Some of Ukrainian boxing’s biggest names past and present have made efforts to step up and defend their country over the last week.

Former heavyweight champion Vitaly, the major of Kyiv, and brother Wladimir Klitschko have both vowed to take up arms amid the conflict.

Vasily Lomachenko meanwhile has joined the ‘territorial defense battalion’ for his hometown of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, which is located in the south of Ukraine near Moldova’s border.

On his official Facebook page, the three-weight world champion posted the