Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua is a British professional boxer who is a two-time unified heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles since December 2019 and previously between 2016 and June 2019.
Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, the son of Yeta and Robert Joshua. His mother is Nigerian, while his father is of Nigerian and Irish ancestry.
Joshua's Nigerian background can be specifically traced back to the Yoruba people, amongst whom he is of aristocratic rank
As an amateur, he represented England at the 2011 World Championships in the super-heavyweight division, winning a silver medal; he also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, winning gold.
In 2014, a year after turning professional, Joshua became 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 the first British heavyweight to do so.
In April 2020, Joshua is ranked as the world's second-best active heavyweight by The Ring magazine and Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and third by BoxRec, as well as the sixth-best active boxer, pound for pound, by BoxRec.
He has been ranked by BoxRec as the world's top 10 heavyweights since 2014 and was ranked No.1 at the conclusion of 2016 and 2017.
At the end of 2020 summer, Joshua has won five heavyweight fights rated 5-Star by BoxRec. His victories include five world heavyweight champions (Charles Martin, Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin and Andy Ruiz Jr.) plus 3 non-titlists who were nonetheless ranked in the global heavyweight top ten by BoxRec within a year of him beating them (Dillian Whyte, Carlos Takam and Dominic Breazeale).
Joshua's knockout percentage stands at 88% (70% in world heavyweight title fights).
Joshua is recognised as one of the most marketable athletes in the world, and has lucrative endorsement deals with numerous brands, including Under Armour, Beats By Dre, and Lucozade.
In 2017, he was ranked as the world's most marketable athlete, ahead of basketball player Stephen Curry, who was ranked most marketable the previous year.
Joshua has also been recognised with his inclusion in the annual Powerlist as one of the 100 most influential Black Britons.
He has a tattoo of the continent of Africa on his right shoulder, with the territory of Nigeria outlined, and says he feels a strong connection to his Nigerian roots.
In June 2020, Joshua was accused of racism for his speech at a Black Lives Matter protest in Watford, where he said "show them where it hurts, abstain from spending your money in their shops and economies, and invest in black-owned businesses.
When asked about the issue, He also replied, "If you think I'm a racist, go fuck yourself."
