Anthony Joshua is a British heavyweight boxer who rose to the top of the boxing world and became one of the most popular stars in the world of sports. Anthony Joshua’s incredible power, impressive physique and charismatic personality made him extremely popular.

Here Are Some Interesting Things About Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua is a family man

He is devoted to family and friends, and values ​​his origins and the people who helped him at the beginning of his career.

Anthony Joshua is a descendent of a rich Nigerian leader

Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua was born on October 15, 1989 in Watford, UK. The boxer’s paternal great-grandfather was the Yoruba leader Omo-Oba Daniel Adebambo, one of the first Nigerians to enter into trade with Europeans at the beginning of the 20th century. 

Joshua’s ancestor became a rich and influential man, buying up land in the Sagamu region, built the first cinema there, founded the African Church of Christ, donated money to the Anglican, Catholic churches and even a mosque.

Adebambo had 12 wives, and the leader sent his children to study abroad. His son, while receiving education in Great Britain, married a lady of Irish nationality in 1952, because of which he fought with three white aristocrats who opposed mixed unions. 

Anthony Adedamola’s cousin claimed that it was from his grandfather that the guy inherited his fighting skills.

Anthony Joshua studied in Africa

A young Anthony Joshua spent several years in Africa, studying at the Mayflower boarding school, whose patron was his Irish grandmother. Joshua got up at 5.30 am, then he had to boil water for washing, and the students did their own washing and ironing. Anthony Joshua later recalled with gratitude the experience of harsh discipline. 

Anthony Joshua’s teachers and classmates had no idea that this was Adebambo’s descendant as he never mentioned it.

Anthony Joshua’s parents are divorced

When Anthony Joshua was 12 years old, his parents divorced and the teenager returned to the UK to attend Kings Langley School. 

Anthony Joshua was in jail

He showed interest in cars, women and drugs, and the young man had problems with the law. Joshua was jailed in Reading Prison for affray in 2009 and wore an electronic leg tag for some time after his release. 

In 2011, the athlete was arrested for speeding, and soft drugs were also found on him, for which the boxer received a year of community service.

Anthony Joshua is a good chess player as well

At a young age, Anthony worked as a mason on a construction site, in his free time he demonstrated success in sports, and was also fond of chess, which helped develop tactical and strategic thinking.

Anthony Joshua wanted Nigerian citizenship

In 2008, Anthony expressed a desire to compete in the ring for Nigeria and asked to be included in the national team at the Olympic Games in Beijing. However, he was late for general training, and the mentors, not seeing the boxer’s abilities, refused to grant him citizenship. 

However, African experts admitted that Joshua did not lose anything by starting his career in the UK. On the contrary, the young man was provided with the best specialists, doctors, agents and so on, which he might not have received in Nigeria.

But the athlete never forgot about his roots when visiting his father, and his compatriots responded with gratitude. April 29, 2017, the day of the heavyweight’s fight with Wladimir Klitschko, won by technical knockout. In Sagamu, fans dressed in T-shirts with Anthony’s photo walked the streets until the morning.

Anthony Joshua became the undisputed champion in 2019

On September 22, 2018, Joshua defeated Alexander Povetkin, and in 2019 he became the undisputed champion, taking the belts of all 4 associations. In December 2020, he defended his title in a fight against Kubrat Pulev, where he won by knockout in the 9th round.

Anthony Joshua lost his belt to Andy Ruiz Jr.

In April 2021, promoters from Saudi Arabia offered a fee of $150 million for the fight between Joshua and Tyson Fury. In 2019, the champion’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr. took place in this country, in the first match with whom Anthony suffered the first defeat in his career. The boxer and his opponent were expected to earn a huge amount of money from the deal with the organizers alone, not counting royalties from broadcasts around the world.

Unfortunately, the parties could not agree due to a conflict of interest, and the WBO obliged Joshua to fight Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk. The fight was scheduled for September 25, 2021, at a venue in Tottenham, London. Joshua lost the fight.

Anthony Joshua failed to regain his belts after losing to Oleksandr Usyk

The title loss did not knock the Briton out of action. In 2022, he was going to fight in a rematch with Usyk. The fight was postponed and was finally announced for August 20th. According to the athlete’s promoter, the boxer might prefer a spectacular meeting with Tyson Fury to a fight with the Ukrainian. However, it was more important for him to regain the lost titles.

Anthony was confident of his advantage. He previously split with Rob McCracken, and Robert Garcia and Angel Fernandez are now taking over his training processes. Joshua liked the training system; the mentors paid more attention to subtleties and tactics.

At the same time, Gilberto Ramirez repeatedly mentioned the name Joshua in interviews. The Mexican planned to move up to the heavyweight category and was convinced that he would easily win the battle with Anthony.

Anthony Joshua lost his fight with Usyk in August 2022. The fight lasted 12 rounds; the judges awarded the victory to the Ukrainian fighter.

After this, Joshua challenged Tyson Fury, but he refused the fight. The Briton failed to find a new opponent by the end of the year.

However, already in February 2023, the fight between Anthony and American Jermaine Franklin was officially announced. It took place in April and ended with Joshua winning by unanimous decision. Despite the successful performance, the boxer was dissatisfied with himself, as he was unable to give the fans a knockout.

But the early end of the fight took place in August, when Anthony fought with the Finn Robert Helenius. The Briton knocked out Dillian Whyte’s replacement in the seventh round.

At the end of the year, Joshua wanted to enter the ring against Deontay Wilder, but the fight was never organized. Instead, Anthony received a fight in December against Swede Otto Wallin, who was riding a six-fight winning streak.

Joshua dominated for five rounds, after which Wallin refused to continue the fight. A technical knockout was declared. Anthony did not evaluate his performance and noted that this should be done by his fans and team members.

And already in March 2024, Joshua had to fight in a non-title fight in Riyadh with former UFC champion from Cameroon Francis Ngannou. Anthony called this a great challenge and promised to beat his opponent. In the end, he was actually able to knock out the Cameroonian in the second round.

Anthony Joshua has a son with a pole dancer

Anthony spoke little about his personal life, but it is known that the man was never married. For several years, Joshua was in a relationship with pole dancer Nicole Osborne; in 2015, the couple had a son, Joseph Bailey. Later they separated, and now the boy lives with his father.