Before now, few Nigerians knew the rapidly
rising British heavyweight boxing star, Anthony
Joshua. But after he “slayed” Wladimir, the
younger of the dreaded Klitschko brothers from
Ukraine, he became an instant worldwide
sensation. Here in Nigeria, his name grew
longer: Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua.
His
mother is from Ogun State while his father had
a mixed Nigerian/Irish heritage. He was born in
Watford, England where he grew up.
Success has many brothers and sisters, but
failure is an orphan. This fits perfectly with the
story of this young, phenomenal pugilist. He
left the cozy nurture of Britain with a wish to
represent Nigeria at the 2008 Olympic Games
in Beijing, China. He could not make it into the
Nigerian team because of alleged lateness to
camp. Meanwhile, Nigeria already had boxers in
his weight class who were more experienced
and seemed surer medal bets.
Undaunted, Joshua competed for England and
emerged an Olympic heavyweight gold medalist
at the 2012 London Summer Olympiad.
After
that, he joined the paid rank s, and within a
space of five years, won 19 professional fights
via technical knockouts without losing or
drawing.
His encounter with Wladimir was a major test
for Joshua, popularly known as “AJ”. He
defeated the younger Klitschko in front of a
90,000-capacity crowd at the Wembley
Stadium, London, thus amassing two major
belts – the International Boxing Federation
(IBF) and the World Boxing Association (WBA)
titles. Now, he has his eyes set on the World
Boxing Council (WBC) and the International
Boxing Organisation (IBO) belts which will
complete his dominance of world heavyweight
boxing.
Anthony Joshua has become the hero of the
two countries he belongs to – Nigeria and the
UK. He seized the august occasion of his
historic win to express his gratitude to Britain,
his country of birth. Now, there is a talk of
plans by the Federal Government to receive and
honour “AJ”. In fact, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce,
in a fit of rhapsody, suggested that “AJ” be
made a “Nigerian Brand Ambassador”.
But does Nigeria have the moral justification to
claim Anthony Joshua as our “brand” as we
had no hand whatsoever in honing his talent as
a boxer? However, since, biologically, “AJ” is
more Nigerian than anything; he can be our
Brand Ambassador if truly he wants to identify
more with Nigeria, the land of his ancestors.
The Anthony Joshua story is yet another
reminder of the abundant human resources
which Nigerians are forced to put at the
disposal of foreign countries because our
system is incapable of nurturing greatness.
The youth should be inspired by the story of
“AJ”’s double conquests: of rejection and the
dreaded Klitschko boxing phenomenon. Nothing
can stop a determined young man or woman
from being the best.
rising British heavyweight boxing star, Anthony
Joshua. But after he “slayed” Wladimir, the
younger of the dreaded Klitschko brothers from
Ukraine, he became an instant worldwide
sensation. Here in Nigeria, his name grew
longer: Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua.
His
mother is from Ogun State while his father had
a mixed Nigerian/Irish heritage. He was born in
Watford, England where he grew up.
Success has many brothers and sisters, but
failure is an orphan. This fits perfectly with the
story of this young, phenomenal pugilist. He
left the cozy nurture of Britain with a wish to
represent Nigeria at the 2008 Olympic Games
in Beijing, China. He could not make it into the
Nigerian team because of alleged lateness to
camp. Meanwhile, Nigeria already had boxers in
his weight class who were more experienced
and seemed surer medal bets.
Undaunted, Joshua competed for England and
emerged an Olympic heavyweight gold medalist
at the 2012 London Summer Olympiad.
After
that, he joined the paid rank s, and within a
space of five years, won 19 professional fights
via technical knockouts without losing or
drawing.
His encounter with Wladimir was a major test
for Joshua, popularly known as “AJ”. He
defeated the younger Klitschko in front of a
90,000-capacity crowd at the Wembley
Stadium, London, thus amassing two major
belts – the International Boxing Federation
(IBF) and the World Boxing Association (WBA)
titles. Now, he has his eyes set on the World
Boxing Council (WBC) and the International
Boxing Organisation (IBO) belts which will
complete his dominance of world heavyweight
boxing.
Anthony Joshua has become the hero of the
two countries he belongs to – Nigeria and the
UK. He seized the august occasion of his
historic win to express his gratitude to Britain,
his country of birth. Now, there is a talk of
plans by the Federal Government to receive and
honour “AJ”. In fact, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce,
in a fit of rhapsody, suggested that “AJ” be
made a “Nigerian Brand Ambassador”.
But does Nigeria have the moral justification to
claim Anthony Joshua as our “brand” as we
had no hand whatsoever in honing his talent as
a boxer? However, since, biologically, “AJ” is
more Nigerian than anything; he can be our
Brand Ambassador if truly he wants to identify
more with Nigeria, the land of his ancestors.
The Anthony Joshua story is yet another
reminder of the abundant human resources
which Nigerians are forced to put at the
disposal of foreign countries because our
system is incapable of nurturing greatness.
The youth should be inspired by the story of
“AJ”’s double conquests: of rejection and the
dreaded Klitschko boxing phenomenon. Nothing
can stop a determined young man or woman
from being the best.
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