Julius OkorieEver heard of the saying East or West home is best? Well Nigeria born British pugilist Anthony Joshua was spotted in his ancestral home, Shagamu in Ogun State in the course of the Yuletide.
The former heavyweight boxer was seen interacting and dancing with his kinsmen. Dressed in boxers with a designer T shirt to match, Joshua appeared to be enjoying every moment of the re-union as he mingled among his people.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelHe also reportedly shared some food stuffs to the people to enable them enjoy the Christmas and New Year celebrations with panache. He has promised to build a sports centre in the community to aid those who might be thinking of going into boxing in future. There are strong indications that the project will take off next year.
READ ALSO: Fans Ridicule Anthony Joshua over Usyk VS Tyson Scorecard
Joshua, full name Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua who is a proud recipient of Officer of the British Empire (OBE) award, was born on 15th October 1989 in Watford, Hertfordshire, the son of Yeta and Robert Joshua. His mother is a Nigerian, while his father is of Nigerian and Irish ancestry.
His cousin, Ben Ileyemi, is also a professional boxer. The pair made their professional debuts together in 2013.
Joshua spent some of his early years in Nigeria as a boarding school student at Mayflower School in Ikenne. Following his parents’ divorce when he was 12, he returned to the UK halfway through Year Seven to join Kings Langley Secondary School. Growing up on the Meriden Estate in Garston, Hertfordshire, he was called “Femi” by his friends and former teachers, due to his middle name, Oluwafemi. He excelled at football and athletics and broke his school’s Year Nine 100 m record with a time of 11.6 seconds.
Venture Into Boxing:
A late starter in the sport, Joshua began boxing in 2007, aged 18, when his cousin suggested he take it up. His club, Finchley ABC in Barnet, North London, is also home to professional heavyweight Derek Chisora.
Joshua won the 2009 and 2010 Haringey Box Cup. Joshua also won the senior ABA Championships in 2010, in only his 18th bout, and later turned down £50,000 to turn professional. “Turning down that £50,000 was easy. I didn’t take up the sport for money, I want to win medals.” He also went on to win the same tournament the following year.
In 2010 his domestic success earned him a place on the GB Boxing team and later the same year he became British amateur champion at the GB Championships after defeating Amin Isa.
Like they say, the rest is now history. He since excelled in his chosen sports, winning 25 of his 28 fights, 15 by knockouts, losing only four fights. He is also a Gold Medalist having won gold at the London Olympics in 2012.
Although there were initial doubts that Anthony Joshua will not visit Shagamu because of time constraints but he finally did to the delight of fans who dubbed themselves Shagamuites. Joshua according to them is an illustrious son of the community and his visit is a huge plus to the image of the community.
Recall that Anthony Joshua also visited Nigeria and Shagamu in 2020, and visited the Palace of Akarigbo of Remo.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
