Sports
5 Things You Didn’t Know About The Phenomenal Anthony Joshua
Anthony Joshua is a name which has gained continued currency within the Nigerian public over the past decade. The British-Nigerian professional boxer who is a two-time unified heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles since December 2019 and previously between 2016 and June 2019 has taken the boxing world by a surprise; and, save only one blooper in his professional record, has proven the Nigerian fighting spirit which in fact is no news to the ordinary Nigerian.
Born in 1989 to Nigerian parents, Joshua holds a dual Nationality and has represented Great Britain on different occasions during his amateur years, reaching the pinnacle of amateur boxing when he won the Gold medal in the 2012 Olympics in London.
Only two days ago, AJ, as he’s popularly called, extended his impressive record to 24-1 after stopping Bulgarian counterpart, Kubrat Pulev in the ninth round of their bout, a match he pretty much dominated and dictated its course through all nine rounds. Of course, it now goes without a saying that AJ’s win has consequently set the ball rolling towards a potential unification battle, a match every boxing faithful currently clamours for.
As the iconic heavyweight looks set to lock horns with fellow Brit, Tyson Fury, in what will no doubt be a mouthwatering blockbuster fight for the ages, Eko Hot Blog takes a look at 5 things you didn’t know about the phenomenal A.J.
(1) Yoruba Ancestry: Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua was born on 15 October 1989 in Watford, Hertfordshire, the son of Yeta and Robert Joshua. His mother is Nigerian, while his father is of Nigerian and Irish ancestry. Joshua’s Nigerian background can be specifically traced back to the Yoruba people, amongst whom he is of aristocratic rank. 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.
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(2) The Latecomer: A late starter in the sport, Joshua only began boxing in 2007, aged 18, when his cousin suggested he take it up. He won the 2009 and 2010 Haringey Box Cup as well as the senior ABA Championships in 2010, in only his 18th bout, and later turned down £50,000 to turn professional. In 2011, he won silver in the world championships (amateur), a feat which would set him on the path to the 2012 Olympics where he clinched the ultimate prize.
(3) Becoming IBF Champion: In February 2016, it was announced that Joshua would face IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin (23–0–1, 21 KOs) on 9 April 2016 at the O2 Arena. Martin was making the first defence of the belt that he won after defeating Vyacheslav Glazkov for the vacant title in January 2016. Joshua set the pace in the first round and kept the southpaw Martin at bay before sending him to the canvas with a straight right hand in the second round. Martin got to his feet, only to be knocked down for a second time by a similar punch just moments later. This time Martin failed to beat the count after taking too long to get up, and the referee waved the fight off, with Joshua winning his first world title.
(4) The Epic Unification Battle: Joshua vs Klitschko: On 2 November 2016, the WBA agreed to sanction a unification bout between Joshua and Klitschko for the vacant WBA (Super) title, previously held by Tyson Fury. The WBA agreement was, if Joshua retained his belt against Eric Molina, the fight would take place on 29 April 2017, at Wembley Stadium in London. The match, for many Nigerians held great significance with regard to the prospect of revenge. The last Nigerian to go against any of the Klitchsko brothers, Samuel Peter, had lost comprehensively.
In front of a post-war record crowd of 90,000 in attendance, Joshua won by TKO in a high-drama war that saw both men giving their all. They fought a close and cautious first four rounds. In the fifth, Joshua came and threw a flurry of punches, forcing Klitschko to the canvas. An angry Klitschko rose up and took control for the remainder of the round, landing clean punches and scoring his own knockdown in round six. The next few rounds were again cautious, both men wary of each other, until a reinvigorated Joshua attacked Klitschko in round eleven, sending him to the canvas. Klitschko again rose but Joshua knocked him down for a second time in the round. When Klitschko rose back to his feet, Joshua threw a barrage of unanswered punches while Klitschko was against the ropes, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
(5) Defeat & Comeback: After a series of contentions on who would face Joshua next for his heavyweight titles, Andy Ruiz, a relatively unknown American was announced as Joshua’s next opponent. The match took place at the famous Madison Square Garden, New York. Joshua dropped Ruiz in the third round, for the first time in the challenger’s career. Ruiz beat the count, and scored his own knock down moments later. Joshua was down again towards the end of the round in a massive turn around. Joshua managed to survive the next few rounds, but after a further two knock-downs in the seventh round, the referee waved the fight off, therefore giving Ruiz the win by TKO in the seventh round, gaining all of Joshua’s four heavyweight titles. At the time of stoppage, Ruiz was leading the fight 57–56 on two scorecards and Joshua was leading 57–56 on the other. It is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in the history of boxing, rivalling Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas.
A rematch took place on 7 December 2019 at the purpose built Diriyah Arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. At the weigh-in, Joshua came in at 237 pounds (107 kg), nearly ten pounds (4.5 kg) lighter than in the pair’s first match. By contrast, Ruiz weighed in at 284 pounds (129 kg), 16 pounds (7.5 kg) heavier than before.
On the night, Joshua boxed a disciplined fight, keeping Ruiz at a distance with his jab and avoiding trading punches up close as he had in their first encounter. Joshua won via unanimous decision to reclaim the unified heavyweight titles with scores of 118–110 on two judges’ scorecards and 119–109 on the other’s.
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