Joshua gleans desire from other uber-successful people, those who know what it’s like to strive against the odds then face the scrutiny of publicity. Thinking of the people he met in Nigeria, the message Joshua wanted to get across is this: “I wish anyone reading this who can help would reach out. And the kids already here, instead of creating unity in the community, are stabbing and fighting each other. There are people travelling across seas and deserts to get (to the UK). “If you are blessed enough to be from a country that provides these things, you need to think about people who are dying. “What’s their motivation? To buy an iced-out watch? Is that success? That is only feeding into capitalism. They have to use that to their advantage. ![]() “It’s important for kids to know that they are in a position where they have water, electricity, NHS, education. It is important, really important,” he says. He has reconnected to the country of his ancestry and found strength from it. His heritage has always been a source of pride and, recently, the green and white of the Nigerian flag has waved alongside the Union Jack behind Joshua as he prepares for battle. He spent six months at boarding school in Nigeria when he was 12, but had not returned since, until his visit to the Makoko slum. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)Īnthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua was born in Britain to Nigerian immigrant parents. They didn’t want to let us go.”Ĭhildren sit in a canoe on their way home from school in Makoko. “Even if they didn’t know who I was, they understood that there was something happening in the air that they wanted to know about. We were shoulder to shoulder.”ĭid they all recognise Joshua as the famous boxer of Nigerian heritage? “Let’s say a space that could hold 500 people had 2000 people in it. There must have been a few ropey moments? “Kind of,” he says. “People were baffled that we went there,” Joshua smiled. Humbled by a first defeat and the relinquishing of his world titles, he was stripped back to being a young man seeking inspiration. ![]() Mike Tyson once popped up in Brixton, south London, where the adoring masses forced him to be rushed into the town hall for safety then evacuated in the back of a police car.īut Joshua’s visit to Makoko was different. World heavyweight champions arriving unannounced in deprived areas is not new – Muhammad Ali mixed with the impoverished people nearby his Miami training camp. Its estimated 300,000 inhabitants, no one knows for sure how many there are, and their ramshackle homes do not appear on any city development plans or maps. Peace out.Officially Makoko does not exist. Keep tuned because the WBC world heavyweight king is back in action coming very, very soon. An imminent fight date, an absolutely monstrous fight. ![]() It's expected the world title fight will take place at Wembley Stadium, with Fury last fighting at the venue when he knocked out Dillian Whyte last April in front of 94,000 fans.įury had teased a massive fight announcement two weeks ago but didn't reveal his opponent, stating: "I've got some massive, massive news coming. 'The Destroyer' re-shared a post on his Instagram story that read "Tyson Fury vs Andy Ruiz Jr is official! July 22nd", with the caption also containing a United Kingdom emoji. Their second fight took place just six months after the Mexican-American shockingly stopped 'AJ' on a month's notice, handing the Brit his first professional defeat and capturing his world titles. ![]() Ruiz, 33, hasn't competed in a world title fight since he lost his unified belts to Anthony Joshua in their 2019 rematch. Andy Ruiz Jr has seemingly confirmed he will fight heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on July 22 in the UK.
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