Anthony Joshua confirms interest in football venture as Prem ambition shared

Heavyweight boxing star Anthony Joshua has hinted at investing into his hometown club Watford. The British icon, who hails from Watford, has considered injecting cash into the Championship outfit as owner Gino Pozzo looks for new financial backers.

Last year, Pozzo put 10 per cent of Watford up for sale via a digital equity scheme, eyeing £17.5million to value the Championship side at £175m. However, by March, this initiative had to be scrapped when it only managed to attract £3,919,334 raised from investors.

The Pozzo family acquired control of Watford in 2012 and have since been open about their search for further investment, or even a full-scale sale of the club.

Watford have been stuck in Championship mediocrity, finishing 14th this season-marking the third year in a row they've ended mid-table after relegation from the top-flight in 2022.

With the team seemingly in a rut, fresh investment could provide the financial impetus needed to get Watford back into contention to compete for Premier League promotion. Joshua, boasting a net worth estimated at a hefty £62.5m by Forbes, confirmed his interest in sinking some of his fortune into the club.

Speaking to the , Joshua said: "We wanted to move into private equity, venture capital funds and so on. As you earn, naturally you want to save, so rather than me spending recklessly I'm trying to invest money into certain asset classes and that was an opportunity that presented itself.

"Nothing's come of it yet. It's a serious investment. If it comes off it's one that should do well. If we don't do it then good luck to them anyway because they're a great team."

He then added: "If they went back to the Premier League then I'd need to get a shop on Market Street because the traffic that would be coming through Watford would be phenomenal.

"I remember being on Market Street and watching the football fans. I'm not a massive football fan myself but watching the fans steamroll Market Street and steamroll Vicarage Road were real good scenes."

Joshua has been out of action since his loss to IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois in September, and has now confirmed that he will require surgery on an elbow injury before he can return to the ring.

He explained: "I'm trying to get my body right. I've got to have a little surgery on my elbow, a small surgery, sometime in May," adding that it will keep him out of the gym for six to eight weeks.

Once he has recovered, Joshua is expected to consider his next fight, and hinted that a bout against Tyson Fury could be on the cards, despite Fury's latest retirement announcement.