There, on Saturday night, could have been Anthony Joshua fighting Wladimir Klitschko, as world boxing champion, under the green white green banner of Nigeria rather than the Union Jack. There, but for one small and now ultimately significant rejection by Nigerian boxing officials in 2008, when he wanted to represent the country of his parents at the Olympic Games. And it was all a question of timing. So they say at least... Then again, maybe not.
Maybe his career would have taken an entirely different fork at the crossroads if he had been flying the green and white colours nearly a decade ago. Joshua makes no secret of his Nigerian heritage. If anything, he embraces it. His middle name, Femi (short for Oluwafemi), is as Nigerian as Nigerian is. On numerous occasions, he has not been shy to speak about his Nigerian roots.
In one post-fight interview muckaround with Nigerian reporter Oma Akatugba, he even attempted to speak some of his native Yoruba language, and the map tattooed on his shoulder tells its own cultural tale. It is a reflection of how connected he has tried to remain to his African roots. Read more here
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