Anthony Joshua, the two-time unified heavyweight champion, once named Mike Tyson as his main sporting inspiration during his youth. Joshua looked up to the former undisputed king, who remains one of the world’s most famous athletes.
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at the age of 20, a feat that inspired countless aspiring boxers, including a young Joshua. Reflecting on Tyson’s impact, Joshua shared his admiration on the Behind the BOSS podcast in 2022: “A boxing inspiration – you only have to look at them for what they do in the ring. We tend to look at a lot of people for what they do outside of their profession. I don’t support a lot of people for what they do in their private life. I like Mike Tyson because he embodied this discipline.”
Joshua elaborated on Tyson’s difficult upbringing, which resonated with him deeply. “He got in a lot of trouble growing up – poverty-stricken area, mum was into all sorts. He raised himself to a degree, was in juvenile detention centres at the age of 13. His criminal record was 50 pages long, so if we were looking at someone with that type of information, we’d probably say, ‘This person’s gonna fail at life, they haven’t got much going for them.’ But he changed that.”
Tyson’s journey from a troubled youth to a boxing legend inspired Joshua. “For me, it showed me that no matter where you begin, as long as you can apply yourself then you never know what the future holds. And he just applied himself to boxing – whether it’s education, sport, whatever it is – but boxing was his chosen field and he educated himself. He became a boxing encyclopaedia, he studied the game and he became one of the greatest heavyweight champions, also the youngest heavyweight champion, that there’s ever been.”
Joshua saw Tyson’s story as a blueprint for his own success. “I realised that if he can do it – I’m not gonna say I can be as good as him – but if the blueprint’s there, wake up early, sleep early, put the work in, believe in yourself, be a savage, then you’ve got a chance of making it. And with boxing, in three years I walked in the gym and then three years later I became Olympic champion by just embodying that mentality.”
Joshua credits much of his success to the lessons he learned from Tyson’s career. “I just took what I learned from him and that’s why for me he’s one of my favourites and an inspiration.”
Remarkably, Tyson is returning to the ring and will be competing as a professional heavyweight at the same time as Joshua. Although Tyson’s return is thought to be a one-off fight against Jake Paul on November 15, it adds another layer to the enduring legacy of a boxer who has inspired generations.
Meanwhile, Joshua is set to return to the ring on September 21, with Daniel Dubois as his most likely opponent. This fight will be a crucial step in Joshua’s journey as he continues to embody the discipline and determination that he admired in Tyson.
