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Tag: Anthony Joshua

  • World Heavyweight Champion: FG congratulates Anthony Joshua

    The Federal Government has congratulated British professional boxer of Nigerian descent, Anthony Joshua, who recently defeated Ukranian Wladimir Klitschko to become the unified World Heavyweight Champion.

    In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Minister of Information and Culture, said Nigeria is proud to be associated with the new unified World champion, whose Nigerian heritage he has publicly acknowledged.

    ”My heart is in Nigeria, My heart is in Britain. I am a Nigerian man by blood, yes,” the Minister quoted Joshua as saying in a recent interview, during which the boxer also listed the secret of his success as pounded yam, eba and egusi – all Nigerian cuisine.

    He hailed Joshua for his humility, despite his success in boxing, and his undying spirit, coming off the canvas after he was knocked down by Klitschko in the sixth round to win by a Technical Knock Out in the 11th round of their pulsating fight.

    The minister said the government would soon invite the new World Heavyweight Champion to Nigeria, especially as he has said he was looking forward to giving something back to the country

  • I’ill defeat Anthony Joshua with one arm behind my back – Tyson Fury

    I’ill defeat Anthony Joshua with one arm behind my back – Tyson Fury

    Former World Heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury on Monday said he could beat the current champ, Anthony Joshua with “one arm tied behind my back”.

    Shortly after his 11th-round victory over Wladimir Klitschko at London’s Wembley on Saturday, Joshua ‘called out’ fellow British heavyweight Fury by saying, “Fury, where are you at, baby?”

    In the build up to Joshua’s fight with Ukrainian veteran Klitschko, both boxers maintained a level of respect for one another, both before and after their epic fight, the same cannot be said of Joshua’s relationship with Fury which has been marked by a series of back-and-forth taunts.

    Fury dramatically beat Klitschko on points in a world title fight in November 2015 and once held both the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) belts now held by Joshua.

    Mental health issues forced fury to relinquish his titles, while his licence to box was subsequently suspended by the British Boxing Board of Control.

    Fury, however, could have his licence returned at a hearing next week and if Klitschko does not want a re-match with Joshua or terms for one cannot be agreed, the momentum behind an all-British clash for the world heavyweight title could prove hard to stop.

    “Styles do make fights but I am sure I can beat AJ (Joshua) with one arm tied behind my back,” Fury said in a Sky Sports interview from his training base in Marbella, on Spain’s south coast.

    “I have been out of the ring as long as Klitschko but the difference is, I am not 41, I am 28.”

    Reflecting on the Wembley epic, Fury, who labelled Joshua a “pumped-up weightlifter”, said: “It was an excellent fight, very entertaining and enjoyable and I was screaming for AJ to smash him.

    “I wonder what people would be saying today if Klitschko had done him in the sixth.

    “I was screaming, pulling my hair out — or what little hair I’ve got left — because I was worried it would cost us millions!

    “He (Joshua) showed he can get dropped and come back, which is what champions are made of. He showed he can recover from taking big shots.”

    Fury added, “There’s only one fight out there, the biggest fight in the world and everyone knows that. It is the heavyweights, it is me and AJ, no one else.

    “I am here, I am the lineal champion, I am still number one in the world and everybody knows that.”

  • Anthony Joshua beats Klitschko, emerges heavyweight world champion

    Anthony Joshua added the WBA belt to his IBF title with an 11th-round stoppage of Wladimir Klitschko in a thrilling fight on Saturday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Joshua was knocked down in round six but twice had Klitschko on the canvas in the penultimate round before the referee stepped in.

    Not only did the 27-year-old retain the IBF World Heavyweight Championship, Joshua remains undefeated as a professional, with 19 victories.

    The bout which made history as one of the biggest fight nights in boxing history drew a record post-war British boxing crowd of 90,000 at Wembley.

    Any talk of Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury may have to be shelved for a bit, as Klitschko has a rematch clause to fight Joshua again.

    However, the Ukrainian in his post match comment noted that he needed to take some time to “figure out” what happened.

    “The best man won tonight and it’s a massive event for boxing.

    “Two gentlemen fought each other. Anthony was better today. It’s really sad I didn’t make it tonight.

    “I was planning to do it, it didn’t work. But all the respect to Anthony, congratulations,” he said.

    Klitschko is 41 and has now lost his last two fights, albeit over a space of 16 months.

    On his part, Joshua said, “What can I say? 19-0, three and a half years in the game. As I said, I’m not perfect but I’m trying and if you don’t take part you’re going to fail.

    “As boxing states, you leave your ego at the door and you respect your opponent. So a massive shout out to Wladimir Klitschko,” he said.

    He also used the opportunity to request for a fight against Tyson Fury, who also beat Klitschko — on points in November 2015 — but has not fought since.

    “Tyson Fury, where (are) you at baby?” asks Joshua.

    “Come on, is that what you want to see? I enjoy fighting. I love fighting. Tyson Fury I know he has been talking a lot and wants to come back and compete.

    “I want to give 90,000 people another chance to come back and watch some boxing here,” shouts out Joshua who is now a three-belt champion as he also holds the IBO title