Mike Tyson made young Anthony Joshua believe he could change his life and become a boxing success

Anthony Joshua once named Mike Tyson as his main sporting inspiration from his youth.

The two-time unified heavyweight champion looked up to the former undisputed king, who remains one of the world’s most famous men to this day.

Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at age 20
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at age 20Credit: Getty
When asked to name his sporting inspiration, AJ told 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.

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“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.

Joshua was the unified WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight world champion

Joshua was the unified WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight world championCredit: Getty Images – Getty
“So 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.

“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.

“I just took what I learned from him and that’s why for me he’s one of my favourites and an inspiration.”

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Tyson is remarkably now returning to the ring and will be competing as a professional heavyweight at the same time as Joshua.

It is thought to just be a one-off though as he will fight Jake Paul on November 15.

AJ meanwhile is set to return on September 21 with Daniel Dubois his most likely opponent.