British heavyweight boxer and former IBF, WBO, and OBO world champion Anthony Joshua recently revealed the name of his boxing idol. Possibly the most decorated boxer in the history of the sport, Mike Tyson was the reason Joshua picked up the boxing gloves. Tyson, who has inspired an entire generation of boxers won six heavyweight championships throughout his historic career and retired with a professional record of 58-6.
Recently when Anthony Joshua was asked about his inspiration for boxing, he elaborated on the similarities between him and Tyson and how ‘Iron Mike’ inspired him to start boxing. Joshua said
“Mike Tyson was the one who got me into boxing,” Joshua told iD Boxing. “Due to the fact that he was a robber and a troublesome kid up until the age of 13 and due to his environment and the way they managed to build his mindset. It wasn’t just his physicality, it was the way they changed his mindset and he managed to become heavyweight champion of the world. It showed if you apply yourself to something you can do anything and that’s why Mike became my favorite because of his mindset”.
Joshua continued “The way they molded this kid, he wasn’t a child prodigy boxer, he was never this young kid who was penciled in to become heavyweight champion of the world. He was penciled on to be going to jail or end up dead, but he ended up changing his narrative due to determination, and obviously meeting the right people, and he became the youngest champion ever”.
“So, it just goes to show that if you apply yourself you can do anything.”
When is Anthony Johnson entering the boxing ring again?
Anthony Johnson was last seen inside the boxing ring back in August 2020 when he fought and lost to Oleksandr Usyk via split decision. After taking a decent time off from the fight game, Joshua will square off against Jermaine Franklin on April 1st in the iconic O2 arena in London.
Joshua will look to keep his world title ambitions alive after losing two fights in a row to Usyk while Franklin, a rising contender with an impressive 21-1 record will look to get a big name like Joshua in his resume. Talking about the possibility of him retiring after losing this fight, Joshua said “I will. I will retire if I lose. I’m not here to battle people. If people want me to retire I will retire. I’m not going to fight if people don’t want me too. It’s not even about the money. It’s about the competitor in you. That’s what’s important. It [pressure] comes with the business and it comes with the territory, I know that. I know when I am retired, I am gonna be chilling. I’m gonna be thinking f**k everyone. I am done”.
What do you make of Joshua’s confesses? Who do you want to see against him in the octagon? Let us know in the comment section.
