By Tim Parsons-
World heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua gave a powerful speech in front of the Royal Family during a service to celebrate Commonwealth Day on Monday.
Popular Joshua spoke at Westminster Abbey before a crowd of dignitaries before speaking with the Queen. Joshua began: “My name is Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua and, like many of you here, I’m a child of the Commonwealth.
“I was born in Watford and my heritage is Nigerian. I come from the Yoruba people, who are the largest and some might say the loudest ethnic group in all of Africa.
“I’m proudly Nigerian and proudly British “I feel opportunity should be there for the taking along with hard work, dedication and perseverance, regardless of one’s background.
“We need to strive harder collectively in order to create unity.
“It takes a village to raise a child. And in the same vein it takes a whole community to act and stand together to tackle some of the challenges we are confronted with today.“These days we hear so much about division and difference that some might be tempted to see that as a bad thing.
“But on the contrary, it’s a beautiful thing.“A thing to be celebrated and cherished, and a great source of peace and stability. Joshua later had a brief conversation with the Queen. The British boxer regained his world heavyweight titles last December, after losing to Andy Ruiz in June 2019. He is due to defend his belt against Kubrat Pulev next June, after which fans hope to see him in a historic thriller against newly crowned WBC champ Tyson Fury if Fury beats Wilder gain in their trilogy.
Anthony Joshua Speaks with Queen
He concluded: “So here’s to fish and chips, egusi soup and pounded yam.
“To the UK and Nigeria, and the children of the Commonwealth.”
After the speech, Joshua briefly met and spoke one-to-one with the Queen.