Anthony Joshua, fondly called AJ, is a British professional boxer and a reigning two-time unified world heavyweight champion. He was born in October 1989 in Watford, Hertfordshire, England to Yeta Joshua and Robert Joshua.
His mother is a Nigerian while his father is of Nigerian and Irish descent. His background can be traced back to the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria. Having had a brief of his education in Nigeria, Joshua returned to the UK at age 12.
Joshua has been highly enthused with sports while schooling in the UK. He participated in football and athletic competitions and even broke a nine-year-old 100m record with a time record of 11.6 seconds.
His inspiration to go into boxing career was drawn from his cousin. AJ started showing what he could do with boxing at the amateur level when he was 18. Interestingly, he had a winning streak of 18 undefeated bouts at the amateur level in his early 20s. He subsequently won gold at the London Olympics in 2012, according to the BBC.
However, Joshua became a professional boxer the following year, and which allowed him to earn money from his matches. He made his professional debut in October 2013 at the O2 Arena where he defeated Italian Emanuele Leo by a technical knockout in the first round.
Since then, he has competed in 24 boxing matches, winning 23 and losing just one. The British boxer has a net worth of $80 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Joshua’s fortune stems from purses, endorsement deals, and his side businesses.
He reportedly earned $42 million between 2017 and 2018, the majority of which came from his bout with Alexander Povetkin. Also, between 2018 and 2019, he earned a jaw-breaking $54 million. Much of that came from his fight against Andy Ruiz, Jr., according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Also, the 31-year-old champion makes money from endorsement deals with Beats Electronics, Jaguar, Hugo Boss, British Airways, Under Armour, and Audemars Piguet. According to Sportytell, his endorsements amount to $10 million. Meanwhile, Joshua has a side project that brings in some money. The Insider reveals he has shares in BXR Gym and a merchandise line.
The boxer is aiming to become a billionaire, according to Freddie Cunningham, his right-hand man in the business. “Joshua has got aspirations,” Cunningham said. “And he wants to do it. He wants to be a billionaire and why not. Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather showed what can be achieved. You have to have the right ingredients.”
With a huge social media base of over 17 million followers on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Joshua earns lucrative sums from posts he makes to his followers.
