Who Are Joshua Edwards’ Parents? All About Olympic Boxer’s Early Life, Nationality and Ethnicity

A revelation from God! A prophecy delivered to the father has come true. The son, a 24-year-old super-heavyweight boxer is going to realize his Olympic dream. Joshua Edwards, remember the name! He will carry the hopes and aspirations of his city, Houston, on his broad shoulders. A gold-winning performance at the Pan American Games 2023, secured his berth at the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024. A love-hate relationship with boxing withstood the test of time. With the support of his family members and peers, he persevered.

Now, is his opportunity to shine at the Olympics. Team USA had earlier proudly boasted his achievements, “Dreams becoming reality. Joshua Edwards is headed to @Paris2024! #RoadToParis | #Santiago2023.” But, what makes him worthy of the Olympian tag? Hopefully, the story of his struggle will rejuvenate the hopes and aspirations of many up-and-coming boxers.

Joshua Edwards and his boxing career

Edwards missed out on the 2020 Olympics, but it only managed to strengthen his resolve. The six-feet-three inch, 220-pounder super-heavyweight boxer was proving to be a handful for his bigger-sized peers in the super-heavyweight category. However, when did being smaller prove to be somebody’s Achilles heel? Remember, Mike Tyson anyone? Relying on his speed and defense, Edwards went on to secure a third-place spot at the 2023 Czech Republic Grand Prix and the 2022 AMBC Elite Championships.

His skills were unmatched at the 2021 USA Boxing Elite National Championships as he won the gold medal. An emphatic win over Cuba’s Fernando Arzola in the semi-final of the Pan American Games 2023 meant he would get a shot at the Olympic gold!

Joshua Edwards’ parents

Edwards started to box when he was just six years old. His passion for the sport was sparked by his father Henry Edwards. Henry, a boxer himself, used to train in the same gym as Muhammad Ali. From buying Joshua equipment to disciplining him for the rough and tumble world of boxing, he made sure Joshua learned life’s valuable lessons before he entered the ring. “Literally, if he got in trouble in school, I make him do like 5-600 pushups,” Henry told Fox 59. “I bought him gloves, and I let him play.”

Meanwhile, Joshua Edwards’ mother’s identity is unknown. She stays out of the limelight, providing much-needed support from the sidelines. Edwards recounted that if it wasn’t for his family’s belief in him he wouldn’t have persevered in the sport. There were times when he wasn’t making enough money, but his parents kept him motivated to not divert from his path. Why? After all, for his parents, a divine intervention was involved.

“I heard God tell me he was a fighter in her stomach…I thought it was some type of some symbolic thing, but he was actually a fighter,” Joshua’s father recounted.

The Houston native planned on quitting multiple times but his father wouldn’t let him. “There were times where I wanted to quit. I thought about quitting and focusing on basketball in high school, but I could see that if I quit it would tear my dad apart,” Joshua said.

What is Joshua Edwards’ ethnicity and nationality: All about his early life

Anthony is African American, hailing from Houston, Texas. Edwards speaks proudly of the city he grew up in. Although he grew up in a “pretty rough neighborhood”, he has a lot to be thankful for. He is going to be his local gym’s first-ever Olympian.

Under the watchful eye of his coach Melvin Malone, he learned the tricks of the trade. A strict disciplinarian, Malone made him work on “angles, slip punches, move” and everything in between. ‘Coach Mel’ took Joshua’s skills to the next level ever since he joined the boxing gym at the age of eleven.

Mel still remains in his corner keeping him grounded and motivated. A winner’s mindset developed quite early in his life which meant that even a painful hernia surgery in 2021 couldn’t break his stride. He recovered from the injury, justifying German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s immortalized saying, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

Lacing up his boxing gloves for the Paris Olympics, he would be the one to look out for. Maybe, a successful stint at the Olympics will kickstart his professional career. After all, Texas doesn’t disappoint when it comes to boxing, producing heavy hitters with championship material like George Foreman. So, will Joshua Edwards be able to win the Gold medal for Team USA? Let us know in the comment section below.