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.