Two-time unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s parents are Robert Joshua and Yeta Odusanya.
It is evident that without his parent’s support and proper guidance, success wouldn’t have followed Anthony, and he wouldn’t be where he is today.
Born and bred in Watford, England, Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua is a British professional boxer.
People look at Joshua and think he was born with a silver spoon, living a proper life.
However, that wasn’t the case up until he turned professional. He still had to take jobs and worked at a series of construction sites during his amateur career as a bricklayer.
Joshua began boxing in 2007, aged 18, after his cousin suggested he try it out.
Despite a late start in the scene, Joshua’s arrival on the world scene was noticed after he beat Italian Olympic Champion Roberto Cammarelle in the 2011 World Championships.
Fast forward to 2023, Anthony Joshua is a two-time unified World Heavyweight Champion. He held WBA (Super version), IBF, and WBO titles twice between 2016 and 2021.
Moreover, he also held the IBO title twice during that timeframe. At the regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight title for a year from 2015-16.
The monarch of the UK awarded Joshua with one of the highest British honors one can achieve, OBE, The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Despite receiving a handful of awards, the OBE holds remarkable importance to him.
AJ is one of the most efficient heavyweight world champion knockout artists of modern times.
Anthony Joshua’s Parents: Robert Joshua And Yeta Odusanya
Anthony Joshua was born on 15 October 1989 in Watford, England, as the son of Yeta and Robery Joshua.
His father, Robert, comes from a bloodline of Nigerian and Irish descent, while his mother, Yeta, is of Nigerian descent.
They both emigrated from Nigeria to the United Kingdom before Joshua was born in 1989.
Anthony’s parents got divorced when he was only 12. He then returned to England with his mother, Yeta, after spending a year in Jamaica.
Anthony has often spoken publicly about the sacrifices his parents made. He has talked about his mother working long hours to provide support for her children.
Along with Anthony, Yeta took care of his brother Jacob and two sisters, Loretta and Janet, after the divorce.
Meanwhile, his dad has seven other children now.
Despite the hardships they faced, Anthony’s parents instilled a strong work ethic and a sense of discipline in him from a young age.
Today, these values have contributed significantly to Joshua’s success as an athlete, both on and off the ring.
A Time Behind Bars
In 2009, Joshua spent two weeks on remand in Reading Prison for what he says was “fighting and other crazy stuff.”
Even though the circumstances of those events are not concrete, Joshua had to wear an electronic device on his ankle after coming out of prison.
Moreover, after just two years, he was pulled over, only for the police to find him with 226.8 grams of herbal cannabis. He was charged with possession of a class B drug.
He got a twelve-month community order and had to show up for 100 hours of unpaid labor.
Joshua said that the experience was a wake-up call, and he has completely dedicated himself to boxing afterward.
