My Son Will Not Be a Boxer, Anthony Joshua Reveals

Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has said it is unlikely his son JJ will become a boxer because he will lack the “killer instinct” his father got from a tough upbringing.

Joshua, 29, was brought up on the Meriden Estate in Garston, Hertfordshire and was an angry teenager who had brushes with police including a warning after he threw an opponent by their neck onto the floor at secondary school.

Looking in a more relaxed pose he and his son pose for photos in the new December issue of GQ magazine and Anthony says: “We all have that killer instinct, but we dampen it down in life. That’s what we train for – that killer instinct. It’s what I do for a living.

“I had that instinct before I ever boxed, but now I know how to handle it, control it and when to use it.

“And that’s why I think maybe JJ won’t be able to box, because when you come from a less violent background, do you have that instinct? JJ has the bloodline but will he be the strongest in the pack?

“That’s what people will wonder and I would wonder that too and probably wouldn’t want him to do it.”

Asked what it takes to be a boxer, Joshua adds: “As soon as I walked into the that gym for the first time I knew I wanted to give myself to boxing.

“Boxing is the sport that rewards hard work, the sport that if you apply yourself, dedicate yourself, train hard, you can become one of the best in the world.

“I stopped smoking, I stopped late nights, I cut out everything that didn’t help boxing.

“Does taking out lots of women help boxing?

“No? Then cut it out.”