The life story and boxing career of Nigerian Tiger, British hero (AJ. Anthony Joshua)
Born on October 15, 1989, Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua, also known by his nickname “AJ,” is an English professional boxer who has won two unified heavyweight world titles. Apart from the well-known titans like Mike Tyson and Mohammed Ali, only a few boxers have captured and controlled the heavyweight class, like Anthony Joshua.
In our biography, career, net worth, and personal life sections, we discuss Anthony Joshua’s ascent to prominence as a boxer. On October 15, 1989, Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. His parents are Robert and Yeta Joshua.
Joshua attended boarding school in Nigeria during his formative years. When Joshua was twelve years old, his parents divorced, and he went back to the UK.
By then, he was only halfway through his seventh year. He joined Kings Langley Secondary School in an annexation. Teachers and classmates preferred to call him Femi, a diminutive of his middle name, Oluwafemi, when he was in school.
Joshua was the football and athletics champion. In his ninth year, he set a record for the fastest time in the 100 meters at 11.6 seconds. Joshua, when barely eighteen, made the decision to take up boxing in 2007. Joshua eventually complied with his cousin’s suggestion to give it a try.
Pioneering and Expert Boxing Carriers
It was officially announced on July 11, 2013, that Joshua had become a professional under the Match Room Sport promotional umbrella. On October 5, 2013, at the O2 Arena in London, Joshua made his professional debut as the main event on a bill that included Scott Quigg’s successful defense of the WBA super-bantamweight title against Yoandris Salinas. Quigg defeated Italian Emanuele Leo via technical knockout (TKO) in the opening round.
Commonwealth and British champions (Cornish against Joshua)
The Commonwealth heavyweight title was set to be contested by Joshua against Scottish boxer Gary Cornish (21–0, 12 KOs) on September 12, 2015, at the O2 Arena in London. The announcement was made on July 16, 2015. Cornish held the title of IBO Intercontinental Champion at the time of the fight.
Whyte versus Joshua
Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, announced that Dillian Whyte would next risk his perfect record against Joshua as soon as Joshua halted Cornish. On December 12, 2015, Joshua squared off against Whyte for the vacant British heavyweight title while making his first-ever defense of the Commonwealth heavyweight title. The bout happened on Sky Box Office.
Whyte had prevailed in their 2009 amateur rankings match between the two. Joshua won the fight by first rattling Whyte with a right hook to the temple and then finishing with a stunning uppercut for the knockout in the seventh round, having survived his first scare of the fight in the second round.
IBF heavyweight champion
Martin versus Joshua
Joshua was scheduled to fight IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin (23–0–1, 21 KOs) on April 9, 2016, at the O2 Arena. The fight was announced in February 2016. Martin was defending the title for the first time, having defeated Vyacheslav Glazkov in January 2016 to win the vacant title.
Ass against Breazeale
For Joshua’s first championship defense, promoter Eddie Hearn revealed a three-man shortlist drawn from the IBF’s top 15 boxers. This featured undefeated up-and-coming fighter Dominic Breazeale (17–0, 15 KOs), together with former WBC heavyweight champions Bernmane Stiverne (25–1-2, 21 KOs) and Eric Molina (25–3, 19 KOs), who were both recently defeated by American WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
Molina versus Joshua
August saw the announcement that on November 26, Joshua would make his second defense of the IBF title at the Manchester Arena in Manchester. Joshua would be competing in the city for the first time since September 2014.
initial tenure as the undisputed heavyweight champion
Anthony over Klitschko
The WBA decided to approve Joshua and Klitschko’s unification bout on November 2, 2016, for the vacant WBA (Super) championship that Tyson Fury had previously held. The WBA agreed that the fight would take place on April 29, 2017, at London’s Wembley Stadium, if Joshua kept his title against Eric Molina.
Takam versus Joshua
On August 3, 2017, Klitschko declared his retirement from boxing on his website and social media accounts. Consequently, the IBF ordered Joshua and 36-year-old Kubrat Pulev (25–1, 13 KOs) to fight next as soon as they learned of Klitschko’s retirement on August 4. A deal had to be reached by September 3, 2017.
Parker versus Joshua
If Joshua and Joseph Parker’s teams were unable to come to an agreement, it was rumored that they would consider facing Lucas Browne. Higgins claims that while a March 2018 date was being discussed with Joshua’s side, Eddie Hearn proposed an 80–20 split that would have favored Joshua.
In an interview with Fairfax Media, Higgins stated that the offer would have to be more acceptable given that the fight will take place in the United Kingdom.
Joshua versus Povetkin
Between April and June 2018, both Joshua’s and Wilder’s camps held discussions about when and where their mega fight would finally take place.[139] The primary obstacles were the purse split, date, and location. At one point, Wilder had committed to fight Joshua in the UK, but there were a few minor errors in the contracts that were being exchanged.
Joshua vs Ruiz Jr.
Dillian Whyte was the front-runner to challenge Anthony Joshua, according to Hearn on December 29, 2018, when Joshua’s Wembley date was still on hold. Whyte, who was waiting for Hearn to get in touch with him, claimed to have heard rumors that Joshua would abandon the Wembley date and instead take on American contender Jarrell Miller at Madison Square Garden.
united heavyweight champion for a second time
Joshua vs Ruiz Jr. II
On December 7, 2019, a rematch took place in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, in the specially constructed Diriyah Arena. Joshua weighed in at 237 pounds (107 kg), which was about ten pounds (4.5 kg) less than he had in their first fight.
Ruiz, on the other hand, weighed 16 pounds (7.5 kg) more than before, at 284 pounds (129 kg). Using his jab to keep Ruiz at a distance and his ability to move laterally to avoid exchanging blows near the body, as he had done in their first fight, Joshua controlled the bout that evening.
Joshua vs Pulev
Joshua was originally scheduled to fight Kubrat Pulev in 2017, but Pulev suffered a late injury that forced Carlos Takam to step in for the fight. On March 2, 2020, it was announced that Joshua would defend his heavyweight titles against Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs), the mandatory challenger for the IBF, at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20. However, the fight was postponed indefinitely on April 3, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joshua vs Usyk
Following his victory over IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev on December 12, 2020, in London, Joshua was asked in the post-fight interview about the possibility of an undisputed matchup with the undefeated WBC and The Ring champion Tyson Fury. Joshua replied, “Whoever’s got the belt, I’d love to compete with him.
If that is Tyson Fury, let it be Tyson Fury.” The two champions had been in talks for a two-fight deal “in principle” since June 2020. On May 17, 2021, Fury announced on his social media that the bout would take place on August 14, 2021, in Saudi Arabia.
Career after championship
Joshua vs Usyk II
Four days after Usyk defeated Joshua to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, on September 29, 2021, his promoter Alexander Krassyuk declared that a one-sided rematch clause that had been included in the fight contract had “already been activated in principle, from the side of Joshua.” Krassyuk also mentioned that Usyk was excited about the idea of facing Joshua twice, saying,
“So I remember when we discussed with Oleksandr the issue of rematch, he was delighted and said, ‘Wow, cool, I will beat Antokha [sic] twice.” As for the rematch’s location, Usyk expressed his desire for it to occur at Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev.
Franklin vs Joshua
Joshua’s formal return to the ring against Jermaine Franklin on April 1 at the O2 Arena was announced on February 6, 2023. The fight would be Joshua’s first under his exclusive five-year contract with the sports streaming service DAZN.
At the first pre-fight press conference on February 9, he revealed his new relationship with American trainer Derrick James and answered questions about his motivation for fighting from his promoter, Eddie Hearn. Before Hearn had completed asking the question, Joshua had already responded by saying, “Money, money, money,” and then went on to say, “I like making money. Straight up. Like, this is a prizefighting sport.”
Helenius versus Joshua
The rematch between Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua II, which took place on December 12, 2015, was announced to take place on July 6, 2023, at London’s O2 Arena. However, this was called off on August 5, 2023, after Whyte tested positive for drugs during a voluntary anti-doping agency’s testing. Robert Helenius was named as Whyte’s replacement, and the fight was rescheduled for August 12, 2023. Joshua won the fight via knockout after round 7.
Wallin against Joshua
Reports from October 2023 suggested that Anthony Joshua might fight Deontay Wilder on December 23, 2023, in Saudi Arabia, alongside Tyson Fury and Alexander Usyk. Later, on November 11, however, reports changed to suggest that Joshua and Wilder would fight on December 23, 2023, but against different opponents.
On November 15, it was revealed that Joshua would fight Otto Wallin on December 23, 2023, while Wilder would fight Joseph Parker as the co-feature bout. Joshua won via RTD after Wallin’s corner refused to allow the fighter to continue after round 5.
Joshua versus Ngannou
On March 8, Joshua defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia via second-round knockout.
2009 saw AJ win the Haringey Box Cup, which he repeated the following year. That same year, he also won the ABA title, which he won magnificently in bout 18 as a young boxer.
Joshua, who was regarded as a phenomenal and spectacular fighter, turned down a £500,000 bid that year in order to pursue a career in white-collar work. He later suggested that this decision was easy to make because he didn’t box for pay. The next year, he won the same tournament.
Joshua’s success in the ring in 2010 gave him a chance to join the GB boxing team. Later that year, he defeated Amin Isa to win the GB amateur boxing title.
Joshua defeated Eric Berechlin and Cathal McMonagale in the 2011 European amateur boxing championship, but lost to Mihai Nistor. The Boxing Writers Club of Britain named Joshua the amateur fighter of the year in October 2011.
Joshua made his global debut at the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championship in Azerbaijan by defeating the exciting and spectacular champion Robert Cammarelle. He then astonishingly stopped the German Erik Pfeiffer in the semifinals, but ultimately lost by a narrow point count to Magomed-rasul Majidov, who took home the silver medal.
Joshua’s big break came in 2012, when, despite only having recently started boxing, he was guaranteed a spot in the 91 kg+ division at the 2012 Olympic Games.
After defeating Emanuele Leo in October 2013, Anthony Joshua made his formal boxing debut on the Matchroom Sports promo banner. This marked Joshua’s participation in a major Matchroom Sport card event for the second time in his career.
When AJ made his ninth appearance for the vacant WBC International Heavyweight title in October 2014, he took on Denis Bakhtov, who was also looking to win the title twice. Joshua won the fight via knockout in Round 2, capping the title at the age of 24.
Anthony Joshua was announced as the opponent for the vacant Commonwealth heavyweight championship, facing off against Scottish fighter Gary Cornish, who had a perfect record in 2015. Joshua looked like a winner, taking out Cornish, the reigning IBO Intercontinental Champion, in just 90 seconds of Round 1.
In addition, Joshua overcame Dillian Whyte, who risked losing his perfect record against Joshua. After this fight, AJ signed a 5-year contract with Match Room and sought a portion of the PPV earnings Match Room made. Joshua earned $3 million for this fight.
In 2016, it was announced that Anthony Joshua would face Charles Martin, the IBF heavyweight champion, who had won the title in January of the same year. Joshua was the winner of the fight, with Martin blaming his lackluster performance on pre-fight distractions. This was Joshua’s first-ever world title fight.
The fight, which was watched by roughly 289,000 people in the afternoon on Showtime, saw Joshua successfully defend his IBF title for the first time when he faced off against Dominic Breazeale, knocking him out in Round 7. After the fight, it was reported that Joshua might face IBF champion Joseph Parker in November.
Following several names being proposed and then withdrawn, Anthony Joshua was set to defend the IBF title for the second time against Eric Molina. Joshua won the third round over Molina.
The WBA tied the contest between Joshua and Klitschko for the vacant WBA super title, and the winner was scheduled to take on mandatory challenger Kubrat Pelev. Following a fiercely intense battle in which both fighters gave it their best, AJ prevailed via TKO in the eleventh round.
The IBF had originally planned to challenge Kubrat Pelev, but after taking a long break from the fight and saying he would review a rematch, Klitschko announced his retirement. The IBF had then changed the original plan to a rematch, but Pelev’s shoulder injury prevented that fight from happening.
With nearly 80,000 people available, Joshua defeated Takam to retain his world title. Takam felt the fight ended too soon, but the judges disregarded his sentiments. Carlos Takam took Pelev’s place as someone who could fulfill Joshua’s defense.
When it came to 2018, Joshua was looking forward to competing against Joseph Parker and Deontay Wilder. The winner of each bout would go on to face Tyson Fury.
After extensive talks over wages, which might have resulted in Joshua collecting up to £18 million should he win, or Parker losing up to £8 million should he lose, Joshua faced Parker in March 2018. Joshua won in Round 12, and the judges’ unanimous judgment supported his victory.
In regards to the proposed battle between Joshua and Wilder, there were discrepancies in the contracts, even though Wilder agreed to face Joshua; later, the WBA gave Joshua’s camp a 24-hour window to complete negotiations with Alexandra Povetkin. Joshua went on to win the WBO title and retain his other titles.
The WBO announced that the fight would determine Joshua’s mandatory defenses for the WBO and WBA titles he claimed, as Povetkin was No. 1 in both bodies at the time, and that Joshua would become the new Super Champion if he defeated Povetkin. Joshua signed a three-year contract with Match Room.
With his championships still in hand, Joshua prevailed in Round 7, earning £20 million and the title of Super Champion.
Joshua lost his belts after being defeated by Andy Ruiz via TKO in the seventh round on June 1, 2019, and Ruiz emerged as the unified heavyweight champion. On December 7, 2019, Joshua overcame Ruiz again to become the unified heavyweight champion twice.
With an estimated net worth of $60 million USD as of 2019, Anthony Joshua ranks among the richest boxers in the world.
Joshua’s numerous investments, bonuses, endorsements, and sponsorship deals with Beats Electronics, Jaguar, Hugo Boss, British Airways, Under Armour, and Audemars Piguet have helped boost his net worth. The total estimated value of his endorsements is $10 million. His salary and winnings are capped at $45 million.
Anthony Joshua’s Personal, Family, and Trivia
Joshua’s father, Robert, is of Nigerian and Irish descent, while his mother, Yeta, is of Nigerian descent. The Yoruba tribe in Nigeria is the source of Joshua’s parentage. Joshua’s cousin, Ben Lleyemi, is a professional boxer; both made their debuts in 2013 with great fanfare.
Joshua’s son, JJ (Joseph Bayley Temiloluwa Prince Joshua), is the product of his relationship with Nicole Osborne, a pole dancer and yoga instructor.
It’s interesting to note that Joshua has demonstrated a remarkable interest in strategy games like chess, which could help him develop a crucial ability that will help him win in the ring.
Based on a 2009 depiction of “violence,” Anthony Joshua was placed on remand, and upon his release, an electronic tag was implanted on his ankle.
When Joshua was pulled over by the corps in 2011 for speeding, it was discovered that he had Class-B drugs hidden in his car. After entering a guilty plea in court, he was given a 12-month prison sentence without pay as well as a suspension from the GB boxing squad.
Anthony Joshua made an investment in a members-only fitness facility in 2016; it opened for business in January 2017 and was the result of cooperation with BXR’s founders, medical professionals, BXR boxers, and MMA fighters.