Anthony Joshua is a Nigerian-British born professional boxer. He began his career in 2007 at age 18, in London. Now, he is a two-time unified heavyweight champion. At first, from 2016 – June 2019, and recently from December 7, 2019 – till date.
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Joshua represents Great Britain as a boxer and has won several medals and awards. Currently, he holds the World Boxing Association (WBA ‘Super’), International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Organisation (WBO), and International Boxing Organisation (IBO) titles. He also held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles between 2014 – 2016.
Also, Joshua was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2013, and Officer of the Order of British Empire (OBE) in 2018.
Anthony Joshua Background
He was born Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua on October 15, 1989 in Watford, Hertfordshire, South East England. His mother, Yeta is a Nigerian and his father, Robert has Nigerian and Irish ancestry.
Anthony Joshua attended Mayflower School, Ikenne, Ogun State, Nigeria. At age 12, after his parents divorce, he moved to the UK and joined Kings Langley Secondary School. Right from a young age, Joshua loved and excelled in soccer and athletics. He was excellent at sports in school and even broke his school’s year nine 100m record with a time of 11.6 seconds.
Although not married, Anthony has a son with his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Osborne. Nicole is a yoga and pole dancing instructor. He named his son Joseph Bayley Temiloluwa Prince Joshua.
Early Career
Joshua began his boxing career in 2007 at Finchley ABC in Barnet, London. Before long, he won the Haringey Box Cup in 2009 and 2010. Also, in 2010, he won the senior ABA Championships. His success earned him a place as a member of the GB Boxing team. Later in 2010, at the GB Amateur Boxing Championships, he became a British Amateur Champion after defeating Amin Isa.
Joshua won a silver medal in the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. He secured his place at the 2012 Olympics games. He went in as a novice and came out as the 2012 Olympic Champion after defeating Roberto Cammarelle of Italy.
Professional Career
In 2013, Joshua became a professional boxer under the Matchroom Sport promotional banner, and made his professional debut same year. Between October 2013 to November 2013, Joshua won three fights by knockouts.
Joshua is the second British boxer, after James DeGale to win both a gold medal at the Olympics and a world title by a major professional sanctioning body. Also, he is the first British heavyweight to reach this height.
Summarily, as a professional boxer, Anthony has fought 24 times, and lost just once. He won 21 times by knockouts, 2 by decision, and lost once to Andy Ruiz Jnr in June 2019.
Fortunately, a rematch on 7 December, 2019 saw Joshua reclaiming the Unified heavyweights titles in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
As a professional, he defeated the following boxers;
- Emmanuele Leo, Oct 2013
- Paul Butlin, Oct. 2013
- Hrvoje Kisicek, Nov. 2013
- Dorian Dach, Feb. 2014
- Hector Avila, Mar. 2014
- Matt Leg, May 2014
- Matt Skelton, July 2014
- Konstantin Airich, Sept. 2014
- Denis Bakhtov, Oct. 2014
- Michael Sprott, Nov. 2014
- Jason Gavern, April 2015
- Raphael Zumbano, May 2015
- Kevin Johnson May 2015
- Gary Cornish Sept. 2015
- Dillian Whyte, Dec. 2015
- Charles Martin, April 2016
- Dominic Breazeale, Jun 2016
- Eric Molina, Dec. 2016
- Wladimir Klitschko, April 2017
- Carlos Takam Oct 2017
- Joseph Parker, Mar, 2018
- Alexander Povetin, Sep. 2018
- Andy Ruiz Jr. Dec. 2019
Awards And Recognition
- Named Amateur Boxer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Club of Great Britain, 2011
- Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2013
- Named Prospect of the Year by The Ring Magazine, 2014
- Nigeria Prize in Sports, The Future Awards Africa, 2017
- Fight of the Year against Wladimir Klitschko, Boxing Writers Association of America, & The Ring Magazine, 2017
- Officer of the Order of the British Empire, 2018
- 30 Under 30 – Europe – Entertainment, Forbes, 2018
- Ranked World’s best active heavyweight by BoxRex, 2019
- Ranked third world best active heavyweight, Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, 2019
- Fourth World’s best active heavyweight, The Ring Magazine, 2019
- Number 49 Celebrity 100, Forbes, 2019
- Number 13 World’s Highest-Paid Athletes, Forbes, 2019
AJBXNG
As an entrepreneur, Anthony established AJBXNG. AJBXNG is lifestyle apparel inspired by the journey of Anthony Joshua. They have an online store that offers high quality fitness, boxing and lifestyle apparel. It is established for fighters who are prepared to push beyond their limits and forge their own success.
On AJBXNG platform, customers can purchase boxing equipment which can be delivered anywhere in the world. It sells weight lifting gloves, belt, straps, gloves, head guards, hoodie and other items for training and fighting.
It was founded with the aim of helping fighters train like a champion.
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Anthony Joshua Net Worth
According to Forbes 2019 celebrity earning list, Anthony Joshua earns $55M. Joshua is a marketing juggernaut with several sponsors like Audemars Piguet, Under Armour, Jaguar LandRover, Beats Electronics, British Airways and Hugo Boss.
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Anthony Joshua Quotes
“Wherever you get to is better than where you started. To stay on the road is a massive achievement.”
“Strategy and loyalty! I’m not perfect but I’m trying, another defining moment for British boxing.”
“My hope is that someone sees my page and decides not to give up. Clean hearts win.”
“The thing that motivates you to win is probably the fear of losing. That fear of losing is what drives me.”
“Better isn’t better if it can be best. Always optimising training and rest.”
“Keep your head held high, and your feet firmly on the ground.”
“On my journey, I fell down a couple times but I never fell off.”
“Shine a light on those who once shone.”
“Sleeping is like mediation: it’s good to rest the body but also to shut the mind down for a bit.”
“Prayer is a form of mediation, isn’t it? It’s laws of attraction: whatever you put out into the universe is what it receives. It’s just kind of putting your thoughts out into the universe.”
“Don’t worry about the title. Worry about what you’ve got to do today, tomorrow, the next day, and that title will be waiting for you.”
“When you are around people who have money, you realize money isn’t that impressive, it’s about your class, morals and how you conduct yourself.”
“Boxing is the embodiment of who I am, but beyond that, this is a journey of the self and my obsession to get the most from this short life.”
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Entrepreneurial Lessons From The Life of Anthony Joshua
Team
Anthony Joshua is always in the habit of appreciating the people he works with. According to him, they have been a major part of his success story and the first set of people that support him.
In life, a tree does not make a forest. No man is an island. You need people to succeed in life. Therefore, the type of relationship you build with them will determine if they will become an asset to you or a liability.
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Focus
From inception, Joshua’s focus was on winning medals. Even as an amateur, after winning in the senior ABA Championships in 2010, he turned down £50,000 to become a professional boxer. When asked, he said “turning down the sum was easy. I didn’t take up the sport for money, I want to win medals”. He has continued to win medals and break records in boxing.
Focus is the key word in your journey to entrepreneurship. Don’t be distracted by the noise. When you’re focused and determined, the money will follow. It is a simple rule of success.
Image Credit: (@AnthonyJoshua) Instagram
