Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has confirmed that he encouraged British heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua to take on a role as an ambassador for boxing across Africa.
Joshua, a two-time world champion of Nigerian descent, visited the Jubilee House on Monday after attending the “Battle of the Beasts” boxing event at the Bukom Boxing Arena last Saturday.
President Mahama expressed his hope that Joshua’s involvement could significantly inspire the continent’s youth:
“I told him [Anthony Joshua] he will be our ambassador. It needs people like him to help change the lives of young people, and so we wish him to be an ambassador for boxing in Africa and take that as one of the causes that he champions.”
He added that this would usher in “a wave of boxers who will also make Africa proud and change the societies from which they come,” while acknowledging, “You are an icon very much loved in Ghana.”
The meeting was attended by Sports Minister Kofi Adams, Ghanaian boxing legend Azumah Nelson, and Sharaf Mahama, CEO of Legacy Rise Sports.
Anthony Joshua is anticipated to return to the ring later this year, with possible matchups against American heavyweight Jared Anderson or the British-Nigerian prospect Moses Itauma.
