Anthony Joshua To Open Care Home For Retired Boxers

British heavyweight Anthony Joshua has revealed plans to open a care home for retired boxers.

The 34-year-old, fresh off his sensational knockout win over former UFC star Francis Ngannou back in March, is working on building his legacy outside of the ring.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday Joshua expressed his concern for boxers of the past.

“They suffer by themselves, so we’ve been speaking about opening up a care home. That would be part of my boxing legacy – that I gave something back to the sport that made me.”

Speaking on his personal health he said:

 “The one thing I would hope for is to keep my health intact. Because it’s your health that is the most important thing you’re ­putting on the line,”

“We can notice it in fighters when their health is deteriorating, but we never actually talk about it among ourselves. All we focus on is winning.”

One of Joshua’s old amateur trainers, John Oliver, a trustee of the Ringside Charitable Trust (RCT) broached the subject with Joshua, who was keen to help.

Dave Harris, the head of Ringside Charitable Trust commended Joshua in a statement.

“We would like to express our immense gratitude to Anthony Joshua for acknowledging the real unmet need for specialist support for ex-boxers following their retirement from the sport,” Harris continued.

“Anthony Joshua is the first elite boxer to publicly acknowledge this need and we hope more from the boxing community will follow his lead.

“Anthony Joshua has conveyed his desire to work with his friend and RCT trustee, John Oliver, alongside RCT in building the care home.

“We at Ringside look forward to working with him in the future.”