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Anthony Joshua and his mum

LONDON. – Anthony Joshua may have bagged £15m from his stunning knock out win over Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday – but his first payment after the win was a humble laundry bill.

Heavyweight boxing champion of the world Joshua still takes his clothes to a laundry parlour in Golders Green, north London, near the flat he shares with his mum.

And the 27-year-old has a £120 bill to pay off with a chunk of his huge purse and he hasn’t forgotten.

“First off, I’ve got to pay my bill,” Joshua joked.

“It’s very big.”

Muqeem Bakhtari, known locally as Max, said “joker” Joshua was a still regular at his Clock Tower Laundry Service launderette.

Bakhtari said Joshua had been coming to his business since before winning his Olympic gold medal at London 2012 and his family often stopped by to pick up his laundry.

He said: “He is a joker – no his bill is nothing. He always jokes about it.

“It sometimes ranges from a fiver to a £100. He has no time so he sends in his family members. It’s minimal.

“The tab is always open to him and his family members – they are lovely people.” Asked if the bill was a reported £120, he said: “Possibly, yes.”

Bakhtari added fame and fortune had not appeared to have changed the gentle 6ft 6ins giant.

“We have known him since before he was Olympic champion, about seven or eight years, and he is the nicest guy around town. Nothing has changed.”

Joshua downed Ukrainian boxing legend Klitschko in the 11th round of an epic battle at Wembley Stadium at the weekend.

Both fighters were already guaranteed at least £10m from the 50-50 purse split and that figure could push towards £15m on the back of record pay-per-view sales. Now Joshua has become a millionaire, the boxer has his eyes on even more money – with sponsors likely to flood on him.

“When I first started my career my aim was to become a millionaire.

“I need to be a billionaire.”

Meanwhile, Joshua said his son “loves my shiner” as he was re-united with 18-month-old JJ after months of gruelling training and an even tougher fight.

The boxer’s mother Yeta Odusanya was on Monday seen returning JJ to the ex-council house in north London where Joshua still lives with her.

After the bout against Klitschko that won him both a £15 million purse and a fearsome black eye, the humble father spent the day with his mother and JJ.

He has now vowed to become the richest boxer ever, overshadowing Floyd Mayweather’s £540 million fortune, after becoming a household name overnight.

Asked if he was ready to meet his adoring fans there, Joshua said: “Am I ready for that? I’m a people person,” added Joshua, who has overnight become a household name after a dramatic fight that won him fans all over Britain.

Joshua said he hoped to become a millionaire when he first started boxing, but he now hopes to become boxing’s first billionaire.

His promoter, Eddie Hearne, said that Joshua will become bigger than David Beckham, with huge public appeal that goes beyond boxing.

“His commercial potential outside the ring is huge, way beyond Beckham and the world’s top footballers. He has a much bigger cross-over in terms of potential,” he said.

The 27-year-old boxer spent Sunday reconnecting with his mother Yeta Odusanya (51) and his baby son after several gruelling months of training away. Speaking following Saturday night’s showdown at Wembley in front of 90 000 people, Joshua admitted his mother had said she was proud of his triumph.

She babysat during the fight and was seen bringing the 18-month-old home to see his father on Sunday.

The father-of-one still lives with Yeta and their dog Roxy in a former council flat in north London, which he bought her for £174 000 after turning professional in 2013. – The Mirror.