Our Man Crush This Week: Anthony Joshua #OMCM

Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua was born on 15 October 1989 in Watford to a Nigerian mother Yeta Odusanya and a British father Robert of Nigerian and Irish descent. Specifically, he is of Yoruba ethnicity. 

Anthony Joshua grew up for some of his early years in Nigeria and returned to the UK halfway through Year Seven to join Kings Langley Secondary School. 

At regional level he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2015 to 2016. As an amateur competing in the super-heavyweight division, Joshua represented England at the 2011 World Championships, winning a silver medal; he also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, winning gold. In 2014, a year after turning professional, The Ring magazine named him their Prospect of the Year.

As of October 2017, Anthony Joshua is ranked as the world’s best active heavyweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and BoxRec, and second by The Ring. His knockout-to-win ratio stands at 100%. 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, as well as being the first British heavyweight to do so. He is also the second boxer, after Joe Frazier, to win a world heavyweight title whilst still reigning as Olympic champion at the top weight.

Anthony Joshua is currently a unified world heavyweight champion, having held the IBF title since 2016, and the WBA (Super) and IBO titles since April 2017.