Dabiri-Erewa hails Joshua for defending his title

Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, has congratulated the Nigerian-born boxer, Anthony Oluwafemi Joshua, for defeating Wladimir Klitschko of Russia in defending his IBF heavyweight title.
In statement signed by Abdurrahman Balogun, her Special Assistant on Media, Dabiri-Erewa stated that the victory of Joshua was not only a thing of pride to Nigerians but the whole of Africa.
She said: “I congratulate you on this wonderful feat, for winning the biggest fight in British boxing history.
“We are truly proud of you and urge you to continue to use your professional prowess to extol the virtues of Nigerian heritage. Your shinning beacon serves as inspiration to the Youth of Nigeria.
“Your victory, is also a testimony , to the fact that Nigerians are great people contributing in many ways to the development of the country and the continent as a whole.”
The presidential aide noted with satisfaction that despite the challenges being faced by Anthony in his chosen career, he remained focused and did not allowed that to lure him into any form of criminality.
Joshua defended his IBF heavyweight title and fought for the vacant WBA (Super) and IBO heavyweight titles against Wladimir Klitschko on April 29, before 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.
Joshua, 27, with the nickname AJ, is the currently undefeated professional boxer, with 17 wins and an incredible 18 knockouts.
He was born in Watford to Yoruba parents from South West Nigeria and has a fellow unbeaten professional boxer, Ben lleyemi, who made their professional debuts together in 2013.
Joshua, who was a bricklayer before taking up boxing full-time, excelled at football and athletics and broke the nine-year-old 100m record with a time of 11.6 seconds.