17 interesting facts about boxing champion Anthony Joshua

Ranked currently as the world’s best heavyweight boxer by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, Nigerian born Anthony Joshua is undoubtedly the rave of the moment in the world of fighting.

Joshua’s popularity has soared after he came out on top in an epic battle at Wembley on April 30 when he knocked out Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko in front of a crazed 90,000 crowd.

He currently has the International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Organisation (IBO) titles to himself.

And here are 17 facts you probably didn’t know about the World heavyweight champion:

1. Joshua is of Yoruba descent. His full name is Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua.

2. He was born on 15th October 1989 by a Nigerian mother, and has a tattoo of map of Africa on his upper right arm, with Nigeria outlined.

3. He spent some of his early years in Nigeria before moving to the UK at age seven.

4. He was called ‘Femi’ by friends and teachers in secondary school, where he broke the Year Nine 100m record in athletics with a time of 11.6 seconds.

5. Joshua started late in his current career. He went into boxing at 18 – in 2007 – after being persuaded by a cousin, Ben Ileyemi.

6. Joshua had an amazing amateur career. He won the 2009 and 2010 Haringey Box Cup, won the senior ABA Championships in 2010, and became British amateur champion at the GB Amateur Boxing Championships.

7. Joshua clinched an Olympic gold medal only five years into boxing, at London 2012.

8. He was honoured by the Queen of England in 2013, appointed as Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to boxing.

9. 27-year-old Joshua made his professional debut in 2013.

10. He is an unbeaten professional boxer. He hasn’t lost a fight since the final of the 2011 World Amateur Championships when he lost to Magomedrasul Majidov.

11. Joshua’s Nigerian mother, Yeta Odusanya, has not been at any of his son’s bouts since that defeat to Majidov.

12. His amateur record is 40-3, while his professional record is currently 19-0, with 100% knockout-to-win ratio having won all professional fights by knocking out his opponents.

13. Joshua wanted to be an Entrepreneur, not a boxer. He once said, “I was looking at becoming a builder, learning my trade, starting my own company.”

14. He joined boxing out of boredom. “It was when I moved to London with my mum and I didn’t have many friends, I got into boxing out of boredom,” he added.

15. He likes the game of Chess. “Chess is the same type of thing in the ring, like taking one of your opponent’s pieces and then counter-attacking. You need to be two moves ahead all the time,” he once said.

16. Joshua is neither Christian, Muslim nor a faithful of any other religion, but is “interested in religion in general.”

17. After the epic battle at Wembley, Joshua became only the fifth boxer to beat Klitschko in his 69 professional fights.

 

 

 

 

 

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