30 Mind-Blowing Facts Every Fan Should Know About Anthony Joshua

8 January 2019, 12:03 pm EST By Ruby Karnick

Anthony Joshua, currently a unified world heavyweight champion, with three of the four major championships in boxing, is ranked as the world's best active heavyweight by The Ring, as of September 2018. Here are some very interesting facts about the British profession boxer:

Joshua is the current unified world heavyweight champion, holding three of the four major championships in boxing.
He was born Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua, on October 15, 1989, in Watford, Hertfordshire, to Yeta and Robert Joshua. His parents are of Irish and Nigerian ancestry.
He did his schooling at Kings Langley Secondary School, Hertfordshire. Known as ‘Femi’ to his friends was good at football apart from athletic in which he holds a school record in 100 m. with a time of 11.6 seconds.
He spent around six months in Nigeria at a boarding school, which taught him discipline. He was up at 5:30 in the morning to fetch water, warm it up with iron rod, washed and ironed his cloths.
Joshua makes no secret of his Nigerian heritage and also wanted to represent it at the 2008 Olympic Games. He missed out after reaching days after the trials.
Around the age of 16 he had few brushes with law. During a football match he grabbed an opponent by the neck threw him down then had a street fights which ended up on remand in Reading Prison.
Life changed for good in 2007, when his cousin Ben lleyemi took him to Finchley Amateur Boxing Club, to lift weight and for fitness class but he took to boxing.
Joshua progressed quickly and within 2 ½ years of after being fitted with pair of gloves, he was fast-tracked into the Great Britain set-up as an Olympic prospect.
He won the 2009 and 2010 Haringey Box Cup and later won the senior ABA Championship in only his 18th bout.
He became British amateur champion in 2010, when he won the ‘G.B. Amateur Boxing Championship by defeating Amin Isa, in the Super Heavyweight category.

In March 2011, he pulled over by the police for speeding in Colindale, North London and was found with eight ounces of herbal cannabis hidden in a sports bag. He was charged and sentenced to a 12-month community order and 100 hours unpaid work.
In October 2011, he was named ‘Amateur Boxer of the Year,’ by the Boxing Writers Club of Great Britain, with 40 to 3, win loss record.
He qualified for the 2012 Olympics when he won a silver at the ‘2011 World Amateur Boxing Championship,’ in Baku, Azerbaijan. On the way to the finals, he defeated the Italian, Roberto Cammarelle, the reigning World & Olympic champion.
On August 12, 2012, Joshua won gold for Great Britain, in the super-heavyweight boxing final with a dramatic victory over Roberto Cammarelle, of Italy. It was reported though he was outclassed by Erislandy Savon and Roberto Cammarelle, he was handed the bout due to faulty scoring system.
He was appointed ‘Member of the Order of the British Empire,’ in the 2013 New Year Honors, in recognition of service to boxing. As amateur he had a record of 16:3, with four titles.
Joshua revealed that he went to see Lennox Lewis, in Jamaica before deciding to turn professional. His early childhood in Watford was filled with thoughts of wanting to be a bricklayer.
Joshua turned professional on July 11, 2013, after he signed up with ‘Matchroom Sport’ promotional banner and on October 05, in the same year he in his debut bout, defeated Emanuele Leo by knockout at the O2 Arena.
On October 11, 2014, at O2 Arena, in London, Joshua was crowned ‘WBC International Heavyweight’ title when he defeated Denis Bakhtov. His record as professional stood at 9-0, all by stoppage with fight lasting just three rounds.
On May 30, 2015, Joshua defeated former world title challenger Kevin Johnson, inflicting first round stoppage in Johnson’s career which forced him to announce his temporary retirement.
He inflicted one of the quickest technical knocked out when he defeated the undefeated IBO Intercontinental champion, Gary Cornish, in just 90 seconds on September 12, 2015, at the O2 Arena. He was crowned the ‘British and Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion.‘

He had his first scare of his professional fight when took on Dillian Whyte, on December 12, 2015, It is said he earned £ 3 million for being stretched to seventh round, the first of his professional carrier before knocking out Whyte.
On April 09, 2016, he defeated Charles Martin, to become ‘IBF Heavyweight’ champion and in the process became the first Briton to win both the super-heavyweight Olympic gold and a version of world title.
His bout with Wladimir Klitschko, on April 29, 2017, at Wembley Stadium, London, registered a post war record of 90,000 attendances. The bout lasted full eleven rounds before Joshua knocked him down for the IBF and IBO Heavyweight title.
He retained his titles when he took on Carlos Takam, on October 28, 2017, at Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales. He was stretched for the second time in his career, before referee stopped the fight in tenth round to record his 20th win.
Joshua was forced to go the distance for the first time against Joseph Parker, on March 31, 2018. He was paid career high fee of £18 million.
On July 27, 2018, he signed a new three year contract with ‘Matchroom Boxing’ banner, which will also keep him tied to career-long British broadcaster Sky Sports.
He recorded his 22nd win of his career in front of 80,000 in attendance at the Wembley Stadium, London, on September 22, 2018. He stopped Alexander Povetkin, in the seventh round to be crowned Super Champion.
Joshua has expressed an interest in Chess as well as reading as a way to reinforce his boxing and tactical abilities.
In January 2017, he opened a members-only fitness gym, BXR, on Chiltern Street, in Marylebone, London.
Joshua has a son, Joseph Bayley Temiloluwa Prince Joshua, out of his relationship with Nicole Osborne, a pole dancing teacher. He bought a £ 500,000 flat in Finchley, north London for his two years old son and ex-girlfriend.