“Is AJ back?” This question, coming from both fans and potential opponents of Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua is already pleading for answers as the two-time former unified world heavyweight champion returned to winning ways last Saturday, with a unanimous points victory over Jermaine Franklin at London’s 02 Arena.
The 33-year-old Anthony Joshua held sway over the strong American in a bout two judges scored 117-111 and 118-111 to the Watford fighter. However, there were flared emotions after the final bell as the two fighters came close to blows once again, prompting their teams to enter and be separated by security.
It was Anthony Joshua’s first win in more than two years after two brutal loses to WBA (Super), IBF and WBO world champion Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine. Few knew what to expect from AJ, as the memory of his losses continue to hang over every discussion about him.
His opponent, with the scary nickname of 989 Assassin, came into the fight with 21 victories in 22 fights, 14 of them by knockout. His only defeat was a controversial points decision that many felt he won. In essence, he’s no scrub.
It was the American, forced to travel on the London underground thanks to traffic, who entered the ring first, while Anthony Joshua followed, marching to the ring with real strength of character and willpower.
On the night, AJ was dominant. While his opponents sought to clinch at every opportunity, AJ concentrated on landing body shots and craftily stalked his opponent around the ring. Though heavier than he has ever been for a fight, he gave nothing away for the extra weight he carried. At the end, the judges had no problem in giving him a commanding unanimous decision.
Will this victory, first in three fights over three years, prove a significant change in the fortunes of the once golden boy of heavyweight boxing? Is AJ on the way to redemption? These are tough questions to answer. Clearly, one fight is not enough to give a definitive answer.
However, the greatest heavyweights in history have always had bumps along their historic paths. Muhammed Ali lost his title three times. Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, and Lennox Lewis all suffered the ignominy of defeat. Indeed, each of them was knocked out at one time or the other. Yet, they came back, in some cases better than they ever were.
Bearing the above in mind, there is no reason to think that Anthony Joshua will not take the same well-trodden path. If he does so, he will only have re-emphasized again that Naija no dey carry last!!
Joshua is British but the boy who would become a 6 foot 6 inches (198 cm) sporting superstar was born to a family with strong Nigerian connections and roots in Watford, near London, in 1989.
Anthony Joshua spent some of his early years in Nigeria as a boarding school student at Mayflower School in Ikenne, south West Nigeria, he returned to the UK halfway through Year Seven to join Kings Langley Secondary School.
Joshua has built an impressive net worth of a reported £170m for a highly impressive career which has seen him twice become a world champion, most notably selling out Wembley Stadium in 2017.
In 2020, He travelled to Nigeria as a two-time heavyweight world champion for the first time and was touched by the adoring reception he received on the streets.
Flanked by fans and bodyguards on a first visit to the home of his father, Robert, Joshua pledged to help his people by giving back to the communities in his native country.
So who is Joshua’s next opponent? No one seems to know. But speaking after the fight, he expressed his desire on a match-up with the current WBC heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury.
“I would be honoured to fight for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world,” Anthony Joshua said.
(Edited by Abimbola Ajayi)
