Anthony Joshua did not “go to jail” on a long-term prison sentence, but he did get into serious legal trouble as a young man, including spending time in a cell and being held on remand, which could easily have led to many years in prison if things had gone differently.

Early trouble with the law

As a teenager and in his early twenties, Anthony Joshua mixed with the wrong crowd and has spoken openly about getting into fights and street trouble. In interviews he has said he once thought he could “do 15 years easy,” reflecting how close he felt to a serious criminal path.

The cannabis and “intent to supply” case

In January 2011, Joshua was stopped by police in North London while driving a Mercedes and was found with roughly eight ounces of cannabis in a sports bag. He was charged with possession with intent to supply a class B drug, an offence that technically carries a maximum sentence of up to 14 years in prison in the UK.

Joshua pleaded guilty, which, along with mitigation, meant he avoided prison and instead received a 12‑month community order and 100 hours of unpaid work rather than a custodial sentence. As a consequence, he was banned from boxing for a period and came close to losing his place on Team GB ahead of the London 2012 Olympics.

Nights in a cell and remand

Before and around that case, Joshua has described spending at least one night in a police cell after being arrested, which he says shocked him into changing his mentality. He has also spoken about a stint on remand in Reading prison in his late teens or early twenties, where he wore an ankle tag for over a year after release under strict curfew conditions.

These experiences meant he technically did spend short periods behind bars, but he was never sentenced to a long prison term; instead, those brushes with custody acted as a turning point.

Why people say “he went to jail”

People online often phrase it as “Anthony Joshua went to jail” because:

  • He was held in custody overnight and spent time on remand in prison before trial.
  • The drugs charge carried a possible double‑digit prison term, so the story is told as him “almost” going away for years.
  • He has used his past in interviews as a redemption arc, contrasting that life with becoming Olympic champion and world heavyweight champion.

Strictly speaking, the key legal case was about possession with intent to supply cannabis, and he avoided a formal long‑term jail sentence by receiving community service and conditions instead.

Recent “legal trouble” headlines

More recently, especially from 2024–2025, there have been online videos and forum chatter about “massive legal trouble” and speculation around drug‑testing or licensing issues, but much of this content is framed as rumor, opinion, or unconfirmed claims rather than clear, official criminal charges sending him back to jail. When looking at such “latest news” or “trending topic” pieces, it is important to distinguish between verified reporting and sensationalized or speculative content.

TL;DR: Anthony Joshua’s reputation for having “gone to jail” comes from serious early run‑ins with the law, including a cannabis possession‑with‑intent case and time on remand and in cells, which could have led to many years in prison, but ultimately resulted in community service, curfews, and a changed life path rather than a long jail sentence.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.