HE has millions in the bank and an incredible physique – yet despite women flocking around Anthony Joshua, the two-time world heavyweight champion insists he isn’t after a supermodel girlfriend.
The boxer insists he wants to live a normal life with a lady he’d bump into in the street.
Which is why he is quick to dismiss any of the rumours that he has dated the likes of catwalk queens Cara Delevingne or Bella Hadid.
Anthony, 34, said: “I haven’t actually been with any of those girls, by the way.
“I’ve had girlfriends, but you could be in the local supermarket or in the local petrol station when we meet.
“It could be anywhere and you decide where we go.
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“I love a Pizza Hut. How easy is that? I’m easy-going.
“The feels is good, it must mean we have an emotional connection. Then when they catch feels, that’s when it’s like, scoot!
“I don’t want that stress — I ain’t got no missus.”
‘I used to get into fights’
The Watford-born fighter was talking to Louis Theroux in the new series of the documentary maker’s celebrity interviews, which starts next week on BBC2 and also includes chats with Dame Joan Collins and hellraising singer Pete Doherty.
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During their conversation, the boxer explains there is another challenge for any woman hoping to become his wife — she has to live with him AND his mother.
That’s because Anthony still lives with his mum, social worker Yeta.
Anthony, whose family is originally from Nigeria, said: “In our culture, it’s like you grow up in the family home, and for a long time we support our parents.
“Am I going to move out and leave my mum by herself for some girl? Hell no. No way.
“When a man marries, she becomes a child of the mum.
“Family is the most important thing. When a girl marries me she ain’t just marrying me — she’s marrying my family.”
Other than Anthony’s mother, there is one other woman who plays a substantial part in his life — the mother of his seven-year-old son Joseph Joshua, known as JJ.
Her name is Nicole Osbourne and although he doesn’t live with her, he can’t shower her with enough praise.
Anthony says: “She’s an amazing woman, you know.
“We got together in 2005, we were about 15 or 16 years old. I have so much respect for her.”
In the interview with Louis, the two men meet in Anthony’s local gym to discuss his career, his private life and the background that made him the person he is today.
He recalls ending up in Reading jail for fighting, and wearing an electronic tag after he was released.
Anthony said: “I’m not a troublesome person but I used to get in fights a lot.
“I went to get chicken one evening and I ended up fighting six guys on my own.
“That was just massive — a really good scrap — and I’m here to tell the tale today.”
Throughout his youth he admits he smoked huge amounts of cannabis — which he eventually realised was holding him back from fulfilling his ambitions.
He said: “As a young lad I was on the gange, and if you can’t get these distractions out of your life you can’t put your full focus and attention on improving as an athlete.
“So for me, when I was able to stop smoking, I was able to progress. I was smoking maybe like six spliffs a day — wake and bake, baby!
“My mum’s not going to be happy about this, but I’d probably be about 13 when I started. If you’re listening to me, kids, don’t do it. It’s not good.”
Anthony had a “sliding doors moment” in 2011 when he was kicked off Team GB after the police caught him carrying eight ounces of cannabis.
When officers asked him to pull over, he was wearing Britain’s official tracksuit and wasn’t exactly humble when they confronted him.
Anthony — who was on course to represent his country at the Olympics— recalls telling one of the cops: “Excuse me, sir, I represent YOU.”
He added: “I never signed up to be a role model, I just wanted to fight to better my life.”
He was sentenced to a 12-month community order and 100 hours’ unpaid work after pleading guilty at crown court.
But he was allowed back into Team GB — and in London 2012, aged just 22, he won a gold medal in the super heavyweight category and turned pro a year later.
He went on to become world heavyweight champ twice, beating Charles Martin in 2016 then, after losing to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, regaining the title later that year in a rematch.
Yet despite his achievements, Anthony hasn’t escaped criticism.
Some say he is afraid to get punched, which he responds to in the documentary.
‘Understand the passion’
He said: “I would advise most boxers, ‘Please, think of your career after (boxing)’.
“There’s no MRI scan that can show concussive bruising to the brain.
“You don’t know until it’s too late — dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, erratic behaviour, depression.
“There’s this stigma that AJ is afraid to get hit — from my critics who are sometimes the loudest in the room.
“But my goal is to not get knocked out. My goal is to knock out my opponents.
“I’ll never shut my brain down for the love of this sport. No way. ’Cos I know the sport don’t love you back.”
Anthony discusses the scrutiny that comes with being a high-profile boxer making vast sums of money — and how it affects him.
He said: “I love boxing, but not all bull***t that comes with it.
“You put so much pressure on yourself to be this big star and be perfect and, I tell you now, the higher you are, the bigger the drop.
“That big status pulls you away from your core values. I just want to be normal.”
By 2021 Anthony had lost his titles to Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, and in the rematch a year later he threw the champions’ belts out of the ring before taking to the microphone.
He told the stunned crowds: “Sorry, guys. Look, if you knew my story you’d understand the passion.
“I ain’t no amateur boxer from youth. I was looking at jail.
“I’m stealing this Usyk, I’m sorry, but it’s because of the f***ing passion. I’m not a 12-round fighter, I’m a new breed of heavyweight.”
Louis asked Anthony about the intense event — which created a moment of friction between the interviewer and the boxer.
Anthony said: “My ego and pride made me drop the belts ’cos they didn’t mean anything anyway.
“I brought this heavyweight division back — that’s like, that was in me, right or wrong.”
Louis interjects: “Probably wrong. I don’t think anybody thinks it was the right thing to have done.”
Anthony said: “You asked me a question so I’m answering it.
“I’ve thrown them because that’s what I felt like. I grabbed the mic and addressed the crowd. Could I have done it better? Of course.
“But I’d just finished a 12-round fight and I felt frustrated. I knew I was out of the title race.
“Then all the questions started. ‘What is he like? where’s his head at?’ All this. Can he be three-times champion of the world?
“People now create this narrative and put this pressure on me. It’s too much.
“Gone are the days when it was just for the fun, when you were just doing it for the passion, your prospects.”
But there’s one man he still passionately wants to fight — and that’s his long-time nemesis Tyson Fury who, he reckons, sounds like a man “who’s swallowed a frog”.
Anthony said: “I think I could beat him.
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“It wouldn’t be easy, but that’s good. It’s a challenge I’d be up for.”
- The second series of Louis Theroux Interviews is on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two from November 7 at 9pm.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
