Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois official as Britons prepare for title fight

Anthony Joshua’s rumoured fight with Daniel Dubois has been made official, with the British heavyweights set to clash at Wembley Stadium on 21 September.

Anthony Joshua has said he is considering opening a care home for retired boxers with health problems.

Speaking to Lauren Laverne on Sunday’s episode of BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, the former world heavyweight champion said he had discussed issues faced by ex-fighters with his former boxing coach, John Oliver.

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

The boxer, 34, reflected on the dangers of his sport. “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,” he said.

“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.”

Joshua described how boxing helped him turn his life around as a teenager. Born in Watford, he spent part of his childhood at boarding school in Nigeria.

It was during his teenage years, back in the UK that Joshua had run-ins with the police and was eventually banned from Watford town centre for fighting. “I started getting in trouble – I wanted to make money wheeling and dealing,” he said. When Joshua was 17, his mother moved to London, and he fell into selling drugs: “I was kind of homeless. I moved into a hostel.”