Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr Sunday Dare on Sunday
congratulated Nigerian-born former world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony
Joshua, for defeating his opponent, Jermaine Franklin in an international bout on
Saturday.
Dare noted in his congratulatory message that Joshua fought like a lion to defeat his
American challenger, and praised him for keeping alive the “never-say-die’’ spirit for
which Nigeria is known.
Joshua defeated Franklin by unanimous decision at the 02 Arena in London to get
the crucial win in his first fight since his September 2022 loss to Oleksandr Uysk in
Saudi Arabia.
The former world champion said after defeating Franklin that he and promoter Eddie
Hearn were keen to organise a bout with Fury, with deal points already agreed from
their failed December 2022 fight.