Anthony Joshua’s specially built Bespoke Range Rover has been reportedly stolen in London. The world heavyweight boxing champion is probably the last man on earth whose car you think will be stolen.
The personalised luxury motor — valued at $270,000,000( about N1billion)- embossed with Joshua’s signature — was reportedly stolen on Thursday.
As reported the boxer was training at the English Institute of Sport (EIS) in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, when car was nabbed from a relative’s home in London.
Joshua parked the black motor — complete with a drawer for his world title belts — at the address while he headed north to make his final preparations for the bout.
His title belts are not believed to have been in the car at the time.
“AJ’s pretty annoyed about it because it’s so close to the fight. He doesn’t want any distractions at all,” a source said.
“Thankfully no one was hurt when it was stolen. There were no aggravating features in it which is a massive blessing.
“But this is probably one of the last things he wanted before the fight.
Joshua will defend his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight crowns against the Russian challenger, Alexander Povetkin, 39, at Wembley on September 23.
“He’s concentrating on the fight at the moment and won’t let it distract him but once it’s over he will do whatever it takes to find it,” the source said.
Another source said: “Unluckily for the people who took it, there’s a tracker in it so it probably will come back at some point.
“It’s probably going to haunt them. I think he’s just worried what state it will be in when it’s found.”
Cops reckon thieves targeted the Range Rover using a keyless device that mimics a car’s key fob to break in.
The $180 device can pick up the signal of the genuine fob and fool the car into thinking it’s being opened legitimately. Once inside, the thieves can override the keyless start with a simple computer.
The spokesman for Joshua said: “A shared car was stolen from a relatives central London home in the early hours of the morning. This is now a police matter and no further information will be made available.”
AJ was gifted his Range Rover last year ahead of his epic win against Wladimir Klitschko.
As well as a specially tuned 5.0-litre V8 engine which can sprint from 0-60mph in just 5.1 seconds, the whole interior is completely personalised.
Land Rover even given the vehicle a one-off exterior colour, specially named World Champion Graphite.
Diamond-quilted leather covers the interior with Joshua’s signature embossed in the headrest and aluminium letter box finishers on door cards engraved with his signature.
There’s also a huge sports equipment storage unit in the boot, perfect for all AJ’s trophies, gloves, pads and a punching bag.
AJ refers to the Range Rover as his most lavish asset and regularly poses with it in snaps on his Instagram page.
“You know someone’s happy when they’re 50m away from the car and they’re saying that looks phenomenal and they haven’t even got inside,” he wrote.
“I’m not someone that’s like ‘that will do, I’m happy with that’. It’s great or nothing — and I’m over the moon with that.
“It’s just perfect. It’s subtle and your eyes draw to the finer details, the small touches of attention and I’m overwhelmed.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything anymore. That’s what having a special car is about — something that represents you.”
Jaguar Land Rover declined to comment
