Anthony Joshua Buys Van For Boxing Club Where His Career Began

Anthony Joshua is an absolute boy. In fact, if you've got a minute, he's the top boy: world heavyweight champ, Olympic gold medalist, multi-millionaire and the sort of gentleman that your mother (probably) wishes that you were.

Even after his meteoric rise to the top of the boxing game - the 28-year-old only took up the sport at the age of 18 - it seems that AJ hasn't forgotten where he came from and those who helped him to reach the heights.

The Watford-based boxer has gone back to his roots to buy a new minibus for Finchley Boxing Club in North London, where he got his start in the ring.

He posted a series of stories on Instagram yesterday that showed him taking the new van to the club in the suburb of Barnet, as well as driving some of the young talents there around, blasting out Stormzy's 'Shut Up'.

The bus features the name of the club stitched into the headrests and even a PlayStation 4 in the back, so the lads and lasses can keep themselves entertained on long journeys.

"These guys will always have their doors open for me no matter what," said the champ of his original mentors. "When it's all said and done, I never forget who's been there when no one was. This is just something off my own chest. There'll be a lot more to come, don't worry about that."

Joshua joined Finchley Boxing Club at the age of 18 and claims that the support he found there helped him to move away from a life of crime and onto the road towards superstardom.

He was a young phenomenon in the sport, winning several youth boxing titles, but had a few scrapes with the law as a young man, having spent time on remand at Reading Prison and being forced to wear an electronic tag after what he called 'fighting and other crazy stuff'.

He was later arrested again for speeding and possession of cannabis, for which he was sentenced to community service.

Of late, he has been performing a completely different type of service, it seems. Along with buying his old club a new set of wheels, last year he also purchased a £58,000 ($81,000) BMW 6 series for his old coach, Brendan Murphy, as a token of gratitude for all the work that he had put in over the years.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Anthony Joshua, Boxing

Mike Wood

Mike Meehall Wood is a freelance journalist and translator. He writes for LADbible, VICE and countless sports publications, focusing on rugby league, football and boxing. He is a graduate of Leeds University and maintains a fizzy pop obsession. Contact Mike at [email protected]