Introduction

Anthony Joshua is a British professional boxer from Watford, Hertfordshire.

Joshua is a former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF and WBO titles between 2016 and 2019. At the regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2014 to 2016.

As of 2022, Anthony Joshua’s net worth is $80 million, making him one of the richest boxers in the world.

Early Life

Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua was born on the 15th of October, 1989, in Watford, Hertfordshire. Joshua is the son to Robert and Yeta Joshua. He spent most of his childhood at his ancestral home in Nigeria. He was five years old when his parents split, and his mother decided to move back.

Joshua returned to Watford to attend Kings Langley Secondary School. He was nicknamed ‘Femi’ by his friends and teachers because of his middle name ‘Oluwafemi’.

Career

Anthony Joshua won the Haringey Boxing Cup for two straight years in 2009 and 2010. His twenties were a roaring success as he won all 18 fights at the Amateur level.

In the European Amateur Boxing Championships in June 2011, he defeated Eric Berechlin and Cathal McMonagle. He was however interrupted by the Romanian Mihai Nistor.

Professional Success

By July of 2013, it was confirmed that Joshua had turned professional under the Matchroom Sport promotional banner. He made his professional debut at the O2 Arena in London in October of 2013, beating Italian Emanuele Leo by TKO in the first round. The first full year of his professional career was very successful and in October of 2014, again at the O2 Arena, Joshua became the WBC International Heavyweight Champion at the age of 24.

The following year, in September of 2015, Joshua became the Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion after defeating the undefeated Scottish boxer Gary Cornish. Joshua was able to stop Cornish only 90 seconds into the first round. Soon after, in December, he defeated another undefeated champion, Dillian Whyte. The match finished in a KO in the seventh round and it was reported that Joshua had won three million pounds for this fight alone.

In February of 2016, Joshua won his first world title by defeating IBF Heavyweight Champion Charles Martin at the O2 Arena. In June, he then defeated Dominic Breazeale in seven rounds. In November, he successfully defended his IBF title against Eric Molina.

It was then agreed by the WBA that there would be a unification bout between Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko for the vacant WBA Super Title. Sales for the fight broke a box office record. In front of a crowd of over 90,000 Joshua beat Klitschko in a very dramatic TKO. Though there was much talk of a rematch between the two, Klitschko ultimately announced he was retiring from boxing the following year. Joshua was able to retain his world titles through 2017 after fighting Carlos Takam, though Takam maintains that the fight was stopped too early.

In 2018, Joshua defeated fighter Joseph Parker in Cardiff in twelve-rounds, the longest match Joshua had ever been forced to fight in his entire 20-0 career. He claimed Parker’s WBO Heavyweight title. He later fought and defeated Alexander Povetkin in seven rounds to maintain his world titles. He continued to dominate throughout much of 2019 and 2020.

Notable Paydays

In April 2017 he defeated Wladimir Klitschko to win the vacant WBA (Super) and IBO heavyweight titles and bring his record to 19 – 0 with 19 knockouts. He earned $17 million from the fight.

He then earned $12.5 million fighting Carlos Takam.

On June 1st 2019 Anthony was defeated by a relative unknown named Andy Ruiz, Jr. In Ruiz’s previous match he made $200,000. For defeating Joshua, Ruiz made $7 million. Anthony made $25 million from the fight when all income sources are included. The loss put a predicted future $60 million payday to fight Deontay Wilder on very shaky ground.

In December 2019, Anthony was guaranteed $60 million to right Ruiz again in Saudi Arabia. Andy was guaranteed $9 million. Anthony won the fight by unanimous decision.

Between June 2017 and June 2018, Anthony Joshua earned $42 million from purses and endorsements. Much of that was the $20 million he earned fighting Alexander Povetkin. He was supposed to earn $25 million for his next fight against Jarrell Miller which was canceled after Miller failed several drug tests.

Between June 2018 and June 2019, Anthony earned a staggering $54 million, the majority of which came from his fight against Ruiz. That was enough to make him one of the highest-paid athletes in the world.

Personal Life

Joshua has had a few run-ins with law enforcement. In 2009, he was put on remand in Reading Prison for getting into fights and had to wear an electronic ankle tag upon release. In March of 2011, he was pulled over for speeding in North London and was charged with possession of of cannabis after eight ounces of the drug were found hidden in a sports bag in his car. He was thus suspended from the GB Boxing squad and was sentenced to 12 months of community order and 100 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to the offense.

Highlights

Here are some of the best highlights of Anthony Joshua’s career:

• Super Heavyweight (2009)
• He won the ABA National Championships 91 kg+ in Bethnal Green, London as a Super Heavyweight (2010)
• Super Heavyweight Olympic Gold Medalist as a member of Team GB (2012)

Favorite Quotes from Anthony Joshua

“There are two types of warriors: the one that rides through on his horse and tries to slay everyone, and the sniper. I try to be more like the sniper. Bang. Break them down, shot by shot.” – Anthony Joshua

3 Leadership Lessons from Anthony Joshua