Anthony Joshua - Wikipedia

Anthony Joshua - Wikipedia

Anthony Oluwafemi Olafemi Olaseini Joshua OBE (born October 15, 1989) is an English professional boxer, a former unified world heavyweight champion who held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles twice between 2016 and 2021. At the regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2015-2016.

As an amateur, Joshua represented Great Britain at the 2011 World Championships in super heavyweight, where he won the silver medal. He also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, winning a gold medal. In 2014, the year after turning pro, he was named Prospect of the Year by The Ring magazine; in 2017, his winning bout with Wladimir Klitschko was named Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine and the National Boxing Press Association. Joshua is the second British boxer, after James DeGale, to win both an Olympic gold medal and a world title by a significant professional sanctioning body, and the first British heavyweight to do so.

As of October 2021, Joshua is ranked #3 in the world by BoxRec, Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and The Ring, #4 by ESPN, and #7 active pound-for-pound by BoxRec BoxRec rank him as the #7 pound-for-pound active boxer in the world, and the #3 ranked boxer in the world by The Ring  BoxRec has ranked him in the top 10 heavyweights in the world since 2014 and ranked him #1 at the end of 2016 and 2017  Joshua's KO rate is 91.67% and his overall KO rate in world heavyweight title fights is 63.64% .

Anthony Joshua - Childhood.

Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseini Joshua was born on October 15, 1989, in Watford, Hertfordshire, the son of Yeta and Robert Joshua, his mother is Nigerian and his father is of Nigerian and Irish heritage. Joshua's Nigerian background can be traced back to the Yoruba tribe, especially the aristocratic class. His cousin, Ben Irimi, is also a professional boxer. Joshua spent part of his childhood as a boarding student at the Mayflower School in Ikenne, Nigeria, and after his parents divorced when he was 12, he returned to England midway through the seventh grade to attend Kings Langley Secondary School. Growing up on the Meriden Estate in Garston, Hertfordshire, he was called "Femi" by his friends and former teachers, from his middle name, Oluwafemi. He excelled in soccer and track and field, breaking the school's ninth grade 100m record with a time of 11.6 seconds.

Anthony Joshua - Career as an amateur athlete

In 2007, at the age of 18, he took up boxing at the suggestion of his cousin. His Finchley ABC in Barnet, North London, is also the home ground of professional heavyweight Derek Chisora. Joshua won the Haringey Box Cup in 2009 and 2010. Joshua also won the Senior ABA Championship in 2010 in only his 18th fight, then turned down 50,000 pounds to turn pro. 'It was easy to turn down 50,000 pounds,' he said. I didn't get into the sport for the money. I want to win medals." He went on to win the same tournament the following year, and in 2010, his domestic success led to him representing the U.K. in boxing, defeating Amin Issa at the GB Championships later that year to become the British amateur champion. at the European Championships in June 2011, he defeated Eric Brecklin of Germany and Cathal McMonagle of Ireland in 23:16 but was stopped by Romanian southpaw Mihai Nistor on multiple standing counts. In October 2011, he was awarded the Amateur Boxer of the Year Award by the British Boxing Writers Club. Joshua's amateur record was 40-3.

Anthony Joshua - Personal Life

Joshua has expressed interest in chess and reading as a way to strengthen his boxing and tactical skills. Before taking up boxing seriously, he was a bricklayer.

In 2009, Joshua was remanded to Reading prison for "fighting and other crazy stuff". After his release, he was forced to wear an electronic tag on his ankle.

In March 2011, Joshua was stopped by police for speeding in Collindale, North London. He was found with 8 ounces (226.8 grams) of herbal cannabis hidden in his Mercedes-Benz sports bag. He was charged with possession with intent to supply a class B drug, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years. Joshua was suspended from the GB Boxing team and sentenced to a 12-month community order and 100 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty at Crown Court.

Joshua previously stated in 2012 that he did not support a soccer team, but when asked in a 2017 interview, he said that although he supports his local team, Watford FC, because Ronaldo was then playing for Real Madrid stated that his "overall favorite" team for Cristiano Ronaldo was Real Madrid C.F.  In the same interview, he also described English soccer player Troy Deeney, whom he met by chance at a local barbershop in his hometown of Watford, as a "good friend."