Anthony Joshua is a wealthy British professional boxer with an estimated net worth of $80 million. Anthony is one of the world’s highest-paid athletes. He earned $50-60 million per year or more at his height. He is a heavyweight who once held the unified world heavyweight title.
Childhood
Joshua was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England on October 15, 1989. Yet, his mother is Nigerian, and Robert, his father, is Nigerian and Irish. Joshua spent his early years in Nigeria at the Mayflower Institution in Ikenne, a boarding school.
When his parents divorced when he was 12, he moved back to the United Kingdom and enrolled at Kings Langley Secondary School. He played soccer and was quite athletic in general, breaking the school’s 100-meter race record. However, he did not begin boxing until he was 18 years old, a fairly late start in the sport, and before commencing to box full-time, he worked as a bricklayer.
Personal Existence
Joshua has had a few run-ins with the law. He was placed on remand in Reading Prison in 2009 for getting into fights and was required to wear an electronic ankle tag upon release. He was pulled up for speeding in North London in March 2011 and charged with cannabis possession after eight ounces of the narcotic were discovered stowed in a sports bag in his car. After pleading guilty to the offense, he was suspended from the GB Boxing squad and sentenced to a 12-month community order and 100 hours of unpaid labor.
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Career in Boxing
Joshua quickly improved after beginning to box in 2007. He became a member of the Finchley ABC club in North London, which is also home to professional heavyweight boxer Derek Chisora. Joshua had previously won several tournaments by 2009, including the Haringey Box Cup. He won the senior ABA Championships in 2010 and rejected the opportunity to turn professional, opting to remain an amateur until he had more wins.
He passed up a $60,000 payday by not becoming a pro. Later, he explained his decision:
“It was simple to decline the £50,000 offer. I’m not in it for the money; I’m in it for the medals.”
He made the Great Britain Boxing squad and won the GB amateur title in 2010. He came close to winning the European Championships in 2011 but was upset by Romanian Mihai Nistor. Despite having a record of 40-3, he was voted Amateur Boxer of the Year in 2011.
Joshua’s early performance won him a spot in the 2012 Olympics in London. Joshua won the Olympic gold medal after several highly disputed and criticized matches, while several critics in the sport believe that the home advantage of holding the Olympics in England played a role in this decision. In 2013, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to boxing.
Professional Achievement
It was confirmed in July 2013 that Joshua had become professional under the Matchroom Sport promotional banner. In October 2013, he made his professional debut at the O2 Arena in London, defeating Italian Emanuele Leo by TKO in the first round. Joshua had a very successful first full year of his professional career, and in October of 2014, at the age of 24, he earned the WBC International Heavyweight Champion in the O2 Arena.
Joshua won the Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship the next year, in September 2015, after defeating the undefeated Scottish boxer, Gary Cornish. Only 90 seconds into the first round, Joshua was able to halt Cornish. Soon after, in December, he overcame Dillian Whyte, another undefeated champion. The battle ended in a KO in the seventh round, and Joshua was said to have won three million pounds for this fight alone.
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Joshua earned his first world title in February 2016 when he defeated IBF Heavyweight Champion Charles Martin at the O2 Arena. He then defeated Dominic Breazeale in seven rounds in June. He successfully defended his IBF championship against Eric Molina in November.
The WBA then agreed to a unification fight between Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko for the vacant WBA Super title. The fight’s ticket sales shattered a box office record. Joshua defeated Klitschko in a thrilling TKO in front of a crowd of over 90,000 people. Though there was speculation of a rematch between the two, Klitschko declared his retirement from boxing the following year. After facing Carlos Takam, Joshua was allowed to keep his world belts until 2017, despite Takam’s claim that the bout was stopped too soon.
Joshua defeated combatant Joseph Parker in twelve rounds in Cardiff in 2018, the longest bout Joshua had ever been forced to fight in his entire 20-0 career. He successfully defended Parker’s WBO Heavyweight Championship. Later, he fought and beat Alexander Povetkin in seven rounds to keep his world titles. He dominated for the majority of 2019 and 2020.
Paydays of Note
He defeated Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017 to capture the vacant WBA (Super) and IBO heavyweight titles, bringing his record to 19 – 0 with 19 knockouts. The battle netted him $17 million.
He then won $12.5 million from his fight with Carlos Takam.
Anthony was defeated on June 1st, 2019 by a relative unknown named Andy Ruiz, Jr. Ruiz made $200,000 in his previous match. Ruiz earned $7 million for defeating Joshua. When all income sources are considered, Anthony earned $25 million from the fight. The defeat threw a $60 million payout to fight Deontay Wilder on uncertain ground.
Anthony was guaranteed $60 million in December 2019 to defend Ruiz once more in Saudi Arabia. Andy was promised $9 million. Anthony was victorious by unanimous decision.
Anthony Joshua made $42 million in prizes and sponsorships between June 2017 and June 2018. The majority of that came from his $20 million paydays from his bout with Alexander Povetkin. He was set to earn $25 million for his next fight against Jarrell Miller, but it was called off after Miller failed three drug tests.
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Anthony earned a whopping $54 million between June 2018 and June 2019, the vast majority of which came from his fight against Ruiz. That was enough to make him one of the world’s highest-paid athletes.
Joshua has mentioned that he enjoys tactical games such as chess to help him enhance his boxing skills. He is not a great soccer fan, although he does support Real Madrid. Some of his boxing idols were Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Larry Holmes, Lennox Lewis, and Evander Holyfield.
Joshua has had romantic relationships with several ladies over the years. In 2014, it was rumored that he and model Cara Delevigne were dating. Joshua and dance teacher Nicole Osbourne have a baby called Joseph in 2015. He was also photographed with model Bella Hadid in 2016, sparking suspicions that the two were dating, but the connection never materialized.
How Much Does Anthony Joshua Earn Per Fight?
Joshua has made approximately $120 million from 25 professional fights, including purse payouts, PPV income, and sponsorship money. Joshua is thought to have earned £10 million for his recent ninth-round knockout of Kubrat Pulev.
Summary
Anthony Joshua is a British professional boxer who holds the unified world heavyweight title. He has represented the United Kingdom at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and several other international sporting events.