At the age of 35 years old (born October 15, 1989 in Watford, England) Anthony Joshua once again stands at the crossroads of a glittering career in professional boxing.
Joshua must regroup after failing spectacularly in his bid to become a three-time world heavyweight champion, being knocked out inside five rounds by Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.
The two-time world heavyweight champion grew up in Watford but moved to the capital when he was 17.
A year later he was introduced to the ‘noble art’ by a cousin, who took him along to Finchley ABC to start training. The rest, as they say, is history. The big Londoner with the cheerful character and imposing physique first came to worldwide prominence at the 2012 London Olympics, his smile lighting up the event as he claimed gold in the super-heavyweight division.
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He turned pro with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom soon after and enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks. He won the British title after just 14 fights, knocking out old amateur rival Dillian Whyte in a classic, and then won the IBF world heavyweight title in April 2016 with a crushing KO win in two (while barely breaking sweat) against American Charles Martin.
On an unforgettable night in 2017 he won an absolute war against Wladimir Klitschko, surviving a knockdown against ‘Dr Steelhammer’ and several rocky moments before pulling the fight out of the fire in the penultimate round to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion.
In 2019 he suffered the biggest heavyweight upset since James ‘Buster’ Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in 1990 when sawn-off Mexican American Andy Ruiz Jr stopped him in seven rounds in front of a disbelieving crowd at Madison Square Garden.
However, AJ then showed his cojones and adaptability by beating Ruiz in a rematch six months later in Saudi Arabia. That victory showed another side to his game, as Joshua took a safety-first approach to beat Ruiz from the outside, winning handily on points.
Joshua would lose his titles once again in September 2021 when he was dethroned by the brilliant Ukrainian former cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua dropped a unanimous decision at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after Usyk produced a boxing masterclass for the ages. A defeat by Usyk in their Saudi Arabia rematch in August 2022 was AJ's third in five fights and left him with a lot to ponder as he assessed the road back to the top of the mountain.
2023 though was a comeback year of sorts as AJ reeled off three wins - each more impressive than the last. He defeated Jermaine Franklin on points, knocked out Robert Helenius and then battered the dangerous Swede Otto Wallin to a one-sided defeat in five rounds.
2024 for AJ started in some style with an incredible two-round demolition job on former UFC heavyweight king Francis Ngannou in Riyadh. That was topped off by a highlight-reel knockout which had referee Richard Gonzalez waving the fight off before Ngannou hit the canvas.
Then though came that devastating defeat by Dubois in front of 96,000 astonished fans. Now AJ is waiting to make his return after suffering an injury to the upper half of his body. Promoter Eddie Hearn believes he will be back in action in late summer 2025.
Anthony Joshua record: Results, Scorecards & Analysis
Joshua is already rich beyond his wildest dreams, with lucrative endorsements deals swelling an already bulging bank balance. Yet it could all have been so different.
A 2011 conviction for Possession with intent to supply Class B drugs threatened to derail his career. If he had gone to prison, his Olympic dream would have been over and there’s no way he could have made the same impact as a pro. In the event he was shown mercy by the courts and has never looked back, proudly evolving into one of Britain’s greatest role models.
Joshua's professional record currently stands at 28-4 with 25 of his victories coming inside distance. His three losses came against Ruiz Jr, Usyk (2) and Dubois while the only two men to take him the distance are Joseph Parker, Ruiz Jr in their second fight and Usyk (2).
Anthony Joshua next fight
It appears likely Joshua's next fight will be a rematch with Dubois after that shocking defeat at Wembley Stadium.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said in the immediate aftermath of that fight that his man would likely invoke the rematch clause. We would expect AJ to take a break first given the pummeling he took at the hands of Dubois.
Anthony Joshua fight time
If AJ rematches Dubois, he will likely fight at primetime in the UK - which means around 11pm local time for elite boxing. That would be midnight CET, 6pm Eastern Time in the US or 3pm PST on the West Coast.
Anthony Joshua fight on TV: how to watch
Joshua has a long-term TV partnership with streaming platform DAZN after jumping ship from Sky Sports in 2022. All of his fights now air on DAZN PPV.
The fight vs Dubois also aired on Sky Sports Box Office and TNT Sports Box Office in the UK. DAZN PPV had rights in the United States.
Anthony Joshua weight
Joshua weighed 252lbs (18st) for his defeat by Dubois.
Anthony Joshua height
AJ is 6ft 6ins tall (1.98m) and he has a reach of 82 ins (2.08m).
Anthony Joshua promoter
AJ's promoter Eddie Hearn is one of the sport’s most colourful characters and his shows have morphed into legitimate world events. Hearn has become something of a pantomime villain among British boxing fans but he accepts it with good grace and works tirelessly to promote his fighters. Joshua will now spend the rest of his professional career promoted by Hearn and Matchroom, after signing a new life-long deal in the days leading up to his London showdown with Usyk in September 2021.
Anthony Joshua trainer
Joshua ended his long-term association with trainer Robert McCracken following that loss to Usyk in September 2021.
He decided a change was needed and changed trainer to go with American Robert Garcia - who has handled some of the modern greats including Nonito Donaire and his own younger brother Mikey Garcia. The Usyk rematch was Joshua's first with Garcia in the corner. And it turned out to be their only dance together.
In early 2023, Joshua appointed Derrick James as his new trainer - and the pair were together for two fights and two wins, against Franklin and Helenius.
Joshua made another change for his 'Day of Reckoning' showdown vs Wallin in December 2023 - appointing Tyson Fury's former trainer Ben Davison to head up his corner. To say it worked a treat would be an understatement as Joshua was massively impressive in dispatching the Swede.
The second chapter of the Joshua and Davison story was even more impressive as AJ blasted out Ngannou inside two spectacular rounds in Riyadh in March 2024. Then things fell apart in that astonishing loss to Dubois.
Anthony Joshua recent fights
Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois
AJ went into his bid to become a three-time world heavyweight champion as a hot favourite, after reeling off four impressive wins. But the wheels came off in spectacular fashion as he was battered to a fifth-round knockout defeat. He was down in Rounds 1, 3, 4 and 5 and in reality never really recovered from the first knockdown at the end of the first round. He was fortunate not to be counted at least twice before Dubois applied the finishing touch with a brutal counter early in Round 5. It was quite the humbling for AJ, and now he must somehow regroup.
Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou
Joshua showed that his partnership with new trainer Ben Davison is for real as he made it two spectacular wins from two fights with the former Fury mentor heading up his corner. AJ registered three brutal knockdowns in the space of two rounds to put paid to the former UFC heavyweight champion - who had given Fury all he could handle last October. The KO when it came was an absolute beauty - a massive right hand which had Ngannou out cold before he hit the canvas.
Anthony Joshua vs Otto Wallin
AJ made it three wins from three in 2023 with a brutally impressive beatdown of the dangerous Swede, a man remember who given Tyson Fury all he could handle back in 2019. AJ, under the tutelage of new trainer Davison, was confident, crisp and precise as he gradually took Wallin apart with good movement and heavy punches. The fifth round saw Wallin's hopes properly unravel as his nose was broken by a furious AJ assault. His corner would pull him out at the end of the round.
Anthony Joshua vs Robert Helenius
Joshua notched his first victory inside distance since 2020 as he put paid to late stand-in Helenius in London. AJ had been due to engage in that long-awaited rematch with Dillian Whyte, but 'The Body Snatcher' failed a drugs test just days before the August 2023 bout. Instead it was Helenius who faced Joshua on that August night in the capital, and his evening was ended early by a devastating right cross in Round 7.
Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin
AJ just had to win in his return to action following those back-to-back defeats by Usyk. And win he did, but it was not exactly the emphatic statement that many had hoped for. Joshua eventually outpointed a man who had taken Dillian Whyte into deep waters, and the scorecards were clear-cut (117-111 twice and 118-111). But the doubts over whether Joshua retains that devastating ability to close were not removed.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua 2
It was all there for AJ, and he couldn't quite make it happen. With the dream of a massive unification showdown vs Fury again at his fingertips, he fluffed his lines once again vs the Ukrainian maestro. The fight, and the result, was much closer than their first meeting - which had resulted in a clear-cut win for Oleksandr in London in 2021. This time Joshua landed much more and appeared to have the defending IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight king in real trouble in Round 9. But just when it appeared AJ might step on the gas to claim victory, Usyk rebounded in the style of a true champion to finish strong and take the win.
Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk
AJ lost his IBF, WBA and WBO world heavyweight titles for a second time when he was dethroned by Usyk in front of more than 67,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Joshua went in knowing that defeat would leave hopes of that Fury clash in tatters, and so it proved as the Ukrainian former cruiserweight king totally outboxed him to claim a unanimous decision. AJ looked ungainly and struggled to cope with the speed and movement of Usyk, who almost forced a stoppage in the final round as he finished in terrific style.
Anthony Joshua vs Pulev
Joshua, now a two-time world heavyweight champion, successfully defended his IBF, WBA and WBO belts against the 39-year-old Bulgarian at London's SSE Arena, Wembley on December 12, 2020. AJ produced a convincing performance to put Pulev (now 28-2) down three times, the final knockdown closing the show via a peach of a right hand in the final seconds of Round 9. Before that AJ had dominated proceedings, and had twice sent Pulev to the canvas with uppercuts in the third and the ninth. Pulev had also been forced to take a standing count in the third.
Anthony Joshua vs Ruiz
On June 1 in New York City Andy Ruiz Jr turned the heavyweight division upside down with a stoppage victory over AJ that was scarcely believable. Ruiz only got the gig as a late replacement after Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller was denied a license after a positive test for a banned substance. It looked a mismatch on paper. The roly-poly no-hoper against the sculpted Adonis. In the event though the Londoner surrendering his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles at Madison Square Garden – via an improbable, incredible seventh round TKO – proved to be the defining moment of the sport in 2019. The victory for Ruiz completely changed the landscape in the heavyweight division. It set the Californian up for life financially while simultaneously crushing Joshua’s reputation as an unbeatable wrecking machine. We know now there are flaws in his game. Question marks about his punch resistance and stamina and a suspicion he is unable to smother an opponent in close when in trouble, or get the most from his jab against shorter foes.
Anthony Joshua v Ruiz 2
If their first fight was phenomenal, their return in Saudi Arabia was a strangely tepid, emotionless affair. The audience in the Middle East was much less excitable but it was Joshua’s decision to box from the outside, and Ruiz’s decision not to take training seriously (he had added 15 lbs to his frame since their summer meeting) that proved crucial. Make no mistake, it was a veritable masterclass of safety-first boxing from AJ, demonstrating how to hit and not be hit against a paunchy Mexican American who was unable to rip through his defences like he did so convincingly at MSG six months previously. It wasn’t his most violent or indeed his most thrilling display but it was one of Joshua’s best performances of his career to date, as he cruised to victory following 36 minutes of intense concentration to become just the fourth boxer in history to regain the world heavyweight titles in an immediate rematch.
Anthony Joshua net worth
Joshua’s net worth is now estimated to be a staggering £115 million, and despite losing his ‘0’ he remains one of the most marketable active fighters in the sport. Forbes have described Joshua as “a marketing juggernaut with more than a dozen sponsors, including Under Armour, Jaguar LandRover, Beats, British Airways and Hugo Boss”. He also has a lucrative UK broadcast deal with Sky Sports and his bouts are streamed globally by moneybags platform DAZN.
The Sunday Times Rich List of 2021 estimated that Joshua now has a personal wealth of £115million, up from £107million in 2020. The reason for that slowdown in growth is simple - there was a pandemic and AJ only fought once in the 12 months in front of a small and socially-distanced crowd.
Forbes placed Joshua at number 19 on its list of the Highest-Paid Athletes of 2020 - claiming the British superstar earned a total of $47m (£38m) with a whopping $11m of that (£9m) from those lucrative endorsements with blue-chip brands. Later in 2020 Joshua was listed at number 57 on Forbes Celebrity 100.
Anthony Joshua family
“Stay humble” is a phrase used regularly by Joshua but despite his oft heard mantra Big Josh has been romantically linked with a slew of famous females in recent years, including Bella Hadid, Rita Ora, and Geordie Shore’s Chantelle Connelly. He had a 23-man entourage for his New York debut against Ruiz and is known for having a lot of people around him during training camps and on fight nights. Watford star Troy Deeney is a close friend of AJ following a chance meeting in a barber shop several years ago. To underline his popularity Joshua currently has a whopping 16.9 million followers on Instagram.
AJ has a brother and two sisters – Jacob, Loretta and Janet Joshua while father Robert Joshua is arguably his biggest fan. His mother Yeta hails from Nigeria. Joshua lived with his mum even when he was world champion and the pair remain very close. He had a son – JJ – with Nicola Osborne but the pair are no longer together.
