Anthony Joshua smoked cannabis aged 13, had six-a-day habit and skipped school

07 November 2023 , 21:33

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Anthony Joshua smoked cannabis aged 13, had six-a-day habit and skipped school

Anthony Joshua has admitted to smoking cannabis six times a day from the age of 13.

The former heavyweight world champion had a troubled upbringing and spent time in prison in 2009. He has now opened up on that part of his life in a BBC interview with Louis Theroux.

Asked by Theroux how much he smoked, Joshua said: "Maybe six spliffs a day... wake and bake, baby. My mum's not going to be happy about this but I was probably about 13 [when I started]. I would bunk off school... for me, if you're listening to me kids, dont do it; it's not good. When I stopped smoking I was able to progress."

Joshua was pulled over by police in 2011 and found to have eight ounces of cannabis hidden in a sports bag. The boxer was wearing his Team GB tracksuit when he was pulled over, and told Theroux: "That was my disguise. When you're big and black you could be doing 20mph and they'll say, 'you're speeding, fella'."

Joshua was suspended from Team GB, sentenced to a 12-month community order and forced to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. But he was later named in the squad for the London Olympics and won gold in 2012 before going on to carve out a professional career which has seen him twice crowned world champion.

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Reflecting on whether the incident was a 'sliding doors' moment, Joshua added: "The Olympic committee, I really honour them... I got kicked off because of my case and I started smoking again. Then Sean (Murphy) from the gym called my mum and said get your son back into the gym, he;'s got talent. Six months to a year later [Olympic coach] Rob McCracken backed me and stuck by me, said let him on the squad, he'll sort his life out."

Joshua went on to lose his world titles to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 before losing his rematch with the Ukrainian the following year. He followed those defeats with back-to-back wins over Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius and is now targeting a clash with Deontay Wilder.

Martin Domin