TheCable

Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun state governor and Solomon Dalung, minister of youth and sports, will be at the ringside to support Anthony Joshua when he fights Carlos Takam on Saturday.

The unified IBF and WBA challenge will take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, is also on the federal government’s entourage.

Nneka Anibeze, special adviser on media to Dalung, says the move is at the behest of the Ogun state government who is geared at supporting the reigning IBF champion who hails from Sagamu.

Takam, a French-Cameroonian, replaced Joshua’s original challenger Kubrat Pulev who made a last-minute withdrawal following a shoulder injury.

Dalung said Nigerians will be happy if Joshua defeats the 2003 All-Africa Games bronze medalist.

“Of recent, Nigeria has enjoyed the upper hand against its West African neighbours Cameroon,” Dalung said.

“The Super Falcons defeated the Indomitable Lioness in their backyard to claim the 2015 CAF Africa Women Cup of Nations.

“Few weeks ago, the senior men’s basketball team beat Cameroon to advance to the semifinals of the FIBA Africa Cup Championship.

“The success of the Super Eagles against the Indomitable Lions where they snatched 4 points from the available 6 points to qualify for the 2018 World cup is still fresh in our memories.

“Another win by Anthony Joshua will confirm our superiority and how far our sportsmen have gone in recent years.”

The current unified world heavyweight champion has a professional record of 19 victories in 19 fights.