Anthony Joshua’s boxing record has made him one of the most recognizable faces and names in boxing.
This weekend the former heavyweight champion of the world takes on Otto Wallin in Saudi Arabia, on the Day of Reckoning fight card.
It’s a huge night for the British heavyweight as he attempts to set up bigger fights in the future, especially with Deontay Wilder.
Ahead of the huge night of boxing, we’ve got everything you need to know about Anthony Joshua’s bio and his career so far.
Who is Anthony Joshua?
Heavyweight superstar Joshua is 34-year-old and was born in Watford, just outside of London, in England.
Full name Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua, he was born to a Nigerian mother and a father of both Nigerian and Irish ancestry.
Known as ‘AJ’, he didn’t take up boxing until he was 18-years-old and his career started at a fast pace and didn’t slow down for some time.
Anthony Joshua’s boxing record was impressive from his amateur days leading up to the moment he turned professional.
Anthony Joshua’s Amateur Career
The Anthony Joshua bio was thrown into the spotlight very quickly in his career as he soon won back-to-back Haringey Box Cups in 2009 and 2010, as well as the Amateur British championships in 2010, the latter in only his 18th fight.
Further success in the 2011 ABAs as well as the silver medal at that year’s world championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Having beaten reigning world and Olympic champion Roberto Cammarelle on the way to that silver he was suddenly one of the favorites for Olympic success on home soil the following year, despite being a relative novice.
He went on to win gold in London, once again defeating Cammarelle, this time in the final. It was controversial though as many felt the decision was due to him being a home fighter.
Antony Joshua’s Professional Career
Anthony Joshua’s boxing record as a professional began in October 2013 with a win over Emanuele Leo, after signing for Matchroom Boxing.
In his first 14 fights, the Olympic gold medal winner wasn’t taken beyond the third round, and it wasn’t until he met Dillian Whyte, who’d beaten him in the amateur ranks, that he went longer.
It was an emotional night for both but it was Anthony Joshua’s bio which was boosted thanks to a wonderful undercut in the seventh round, to earn him the British heavyweight title.
He next defeated Charles Martin to earn himself the IBF world heavyweight title and then defended it against Dominic Breazeale and Eric Molina, continuing his record to 18-0 with every fight ending well inside the distance.
He became the unified world champion by defeating Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium in April 2017, in an instant classic.
Joshua knocked the Ukrainian down in the fifth but seemed to have used up all his energy and his legendary opponent finished the round on top.
Klitschko then knocked AJ down in the sixth round and looked in danger, until he later regained his legs underneath him.
He finished the fight in the 11th round to become the IBF, WBA and IBO world champion.
Then came a win against Carlos Takam before Joseph Parker became the first fighter to take him to the judges’ scorecards, with the Brit adding the WBO belt to his collection.
After, defeating Alexander Povetkin, he was to have his first fight on US soil, at Madison Square Garden, against Jarrell Miller.
When Miller was removed after failing a drug test, Andy Ruiz Jr was the late replacement, after messaging Eddie Hearn and asking for the fight.
The Mexican caused one of the biggest shocks in heavyweight boxing history to stop the champ in the seventh round, after recovering from a knockdown, to take the titles and inflict Joshua’s first loss.
It took just a few months for him to win the titles back from Ruiz in Saudi Arabia, before beating Kubrat Pulev.
AJ lost his titles for a second time when he was defeated by former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021, and lost the rematch 11 months later, leading to questions about his quality.
Wins against Jermain Franklin and Robert Helenius have led to this weekend’s fight and left him with a 26-3 record, with 23 KO victories.
Anthony Joshua Bio
As well as the Anthony Joshua boxing record, there is some interesting moments outside of the boxing ring in his career.
As well as criticism over fighting in Saudi Arabia, he has also been involved accused of racism on a couple of occasions. He appeared to call heavyweight boxer Eddie Chambers a “disgrace to the superior black race,” on social media.
He was vocal in the BLM cause and called for the community in London to spend money at black-owned businesses, which some wrongly saw as an attack on white-owned businesses.
He has been criticised in the past for not showing his ‘true personality’ at times, whilst his boxing style appears to have changed in recent times and he is less entertaining and gung-ho compared to his early career.
