Anthony Joshua Reveals Best Christmas Present He Ever Bought

From modest beginnings, Anthony Joshua has become a sporting superstar. His prowess in the ring has brought him fame, belts and wealth - which he has used to give back to his nearest and dearest.

And what better time to spread the love than at Christmas?

Speaking to LADbible to promote JD's 'King of the Streets' Christmas campaign, AJ said, casually: "Probably the best Christmas gift I've given... maybe like a car, for a cousin, brother, something like that."

Doesn't make you feel too great about the kitchen tongs you're gonna be wrapping up for your sibling, does it?

It's not just Joshua's family who will benefit from his generosity this festive period though, because the 32-year-old is creating a foundation in Watford to support young people in the area where he grew up.

Succinctly summarising what it will be all about, the former unified heavyweight champion said: "It's just a bunch of lads who do stuff in the community."

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He continued: "I don't want to make it just about me either, I've got so many friends from the same community that are on the same path as me, and as we get older, we tend to forget about the next generation coming up after us.

"I was once that generation that was looking for guidance. So we want to kind of showcase a lot of positive things in the area.

"We've got 100 boxing tickets available for the weekend's boxing, we've got like 60 scooters stashed away to give away for kids. We're gonna decorate a boxing gym, we're gonna bring promo to a boxing gym.

"They're to name a few - and just being around; sometimes your presence, we say, is more important than your profits."

Joshua embarked on his boxing career relatively late on, picking up a pair of gloves in 2007, when he was 18. But by 2012, he was picking up the gold medal at the London Olympics, and the following year he turned professional.

So what was his first big purchase when the money started coming in?

Alamy

The fighter reflected: "I bought the council flat we lived in. You could get it on a right to buy scheme, get a heavy discount on the council property, and I thought it's the smartest investment I'll make. And I'm glad, it just put me off in the right direction."

He added: "The last thing I want to be doing is fighting for a pay check later on in my life."

Asked if this indicates that he intends to swerve big money fights with YouTubers - which seem to be all the rage at the moment - Joshua laid out a clear vision for his future.

He said: "I wanna leave on a high. I have three goals: I want to provide opportunity for my local community, I want to be feared in my industry, and I just want respect.

"That's all, that's all I want from boxing. For me, if that comes with fighting a YouTuber, I'm all for it; but if that doesn't have any benefit to those three things I want in my industry, then I'm not for it at all, because it doesn't go with my ethos."

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Topics: SPORT, Anthony Joshua, Boxing, Interesting

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey