Anthony Joshua reveals how much cannabis he smoked as a teenager

The British heavyweight appears on the 7 November episode of Louis Theroux Interviews

Alex Pattle
Combat Sports Correspondent
Tuesday 07 November 2023 16:35 GMT
Comments
Jimmy Sains on fights at school, ‘needle’ in the amateurs, and the debut ‘buzz’

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Anthony Joshua has revealed that he would smoke “maybe six spliffs a day” before he shook his cannabis habit and became a professional boxer.

Joshua, a former two-time world heavyweight champion, is the subject of the 7 November episode of Louis Theroux Interviews, in which “AJ” discusses his upbringing, boxing career and future plans.

At one point in the latest episode of the BBC programme, Theroux asks Joshua about his smoking habit as a teenager, with the 34-year-old revealing: “I fell in love with the fitness regime, because when I was a young lad I was on the ganja, the haze.

“If you can’t get these distractions out your life, you can’t put your full focus and attention on improving as an athlete. So for me, when I stopped smoking, I was able to progress.

“[I was smoking] maybe like six spliffs a day – wake and bake, baby. My mum’s not gonna be happy about this, right, but [I was] probably about 13 [when I started].

“[I would smoke before school] or would bunk off school. I can’t really... If you’re listening to me, kids, don’t do it! It’s not good.”

When asked whether smoking helped him at school, Joshua replies, “Not at all! I was in Reading jail in 2009, then in 2011 I [almost] got kicked off the Olympic team for carrying drugs.

“I really honour the Olympic committee, because I got kicked off the Olympic committee at the time, and I started smoking again.

Theroux, left, and Joshua at Finchley & District Amateur Boxing Club
Theroux, left, and Joshua at Finchley & District Amateur Boxing Club (BBC/Mindhouse Productions/Ryan McNamara)

“Sean [Murphy, from Finchley & District Amateur Boxing Club], called my mum and said: ‘Get your son back in the gym, stop messing about, he’s got talent.’ Then, about six months later to a year, Rob McCracken backed me. He stuck by me and said: ‘Let him on the squad, he’ll sort his life out. Trust me.’”

In the latest episode of Louis Theroux Interviews, Joshua also discusses his career no longer being “fun” and relives a “massive” fight with “six guys” in the street.

Much of the episode focuses on Joshua’s points win over Jermaine Franklin in April, when the Briton bounced back from two straight losses to Oleksandr Usyk. “AJ” has since fought again, knocking out Robert Helenius in August.

Louis Theroux Interviews: Anthony Joshua airs on BBC Two on Tuesday 7 November, starting at 9pm GMT.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in