According to British heavyweight Anthony Joshua, his kid choosing to become a professional boxer would not be a “wise decision.”
Though he added that he wanted his son Joseph Joshua, often known as JJ, to forge his own path in life, the two-time former unified world heavyweight champion stated on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs that he would much rather if his son followed in his footsteps and became an accountant.
Additionally, Joshua spoke with host Lauren Laverne how he became homeless at the age of 17 and how he got into issue with the police for fighting when he was a youngster living in Watford.
Looking back on his boxing career, Anthony Joshua says he discovered the sport just when he needed it.
“I’d usually sit outside the estate and just have a cigarette,” he said on Desert Island Discs. After that, I started running into problems. My only goal was to make money,” he said to the show.
“I was constantly getting in trouble.”
Joshua says that taking up boxing helped him “channel my energy” and he entered the ring for the first time at the age of 18.
Joshua rose to fame five years later after winning gold at the London 2012 Olympics.
A year later, Joshua decided to turn pro – the breakout moment for him coming at age 27, when he met the Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017.
In a sold out Wembley Stadium, roared on by a crowd of 90,000, AJ – as he is known to his fans – floored the 41-year old two-time world champion in the 11th round in one of the most gruelling but entertaining heavyweight contests.
Later, he said the victory over Klitschko changed his career.
A knockout artist – AJ has fought 22 professional bouts without defeat and won 21 of them, rising like a rock star over the following decade.
But the low point in the boxer’s career came in 2022, when he failed to recapture the unified WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles from his nemesis, Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua first denied that the defeat had a significant impact on him as he struggled to accept it.
After losing to Usyk in a remarkable rematch, he had declared, “I don’t feel anything,” and he had then thrown both title belts from the ring.
However, Joshua apologized, choked back tears, and put his head in his hands during a post-fight news conference, claiming that the loss “tore him apart.”
In an interview with Desert Island Discs, he said that he had lost his mind over losing and related how, once, he spent five days alone in a “dark room” to “heal from the inside mentally.”
Joshua said it was around this time that he realised he needed to have “more meaningful conversations” with his family.
Beyond the world of boxing, AJ is known to be a fiercely private man for whom loyalty to family is of paramount importance.
He grew up as one of seven children living between his mum’s house and his dad’s place.
In various interviews he spoke fondly about his mother Yeta Odusanya, and his son, JJ.
Soon after his career took off, he bought a place for his mum to live in.
“When you step up as a man in the house, freedom is making sure your parents are taken care of as well,” he told the BBC.
“For me, that’s freedom knowing that no matter where I am in the world, my mum’s happy, she’s taken care of.”
Joshua asserts that he is a father and a son first and that he has “always kept boxing out” from his family.
Does he want to see his kid take the ring?
He has previously stated that he wanted his kid to be the “best man that he can be” and could not see himself living that kind of life for his “little JJ”.
Joshua stated in an interview with Desert Island Discs that his opinions on his son’s destiny were unchanged. When JJ asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said that he would advise him to “do the best you can do”.
“If I was to choose [a career] for him, I would ask him to probably look at accountancy because I think it’s good to understand numbers,” he explained.
But how would he fare for himself? What is his retirement plan?
He stated that although he has no intentions to retire just yet, he would like to open a care facility for former boxers in poor health when he does eventually leave the sport.
“I gave back to the sport that made me,” he remarked, “and that would be part of my boxing heritage.”
“I need to make wise decisions now while the iron is still hot because I know I won’t be in the hot seat for eternity.”