Joshua is born to an Irish-Nigerian father, Robert and a Nigerian mother and spent some of his early years in Nigeria.

On Saturday, about 90,000 fans are expected at Wembley to watch him fight Klitschko in what is the biggest boxing fight in 2017.

Joshua would have been a registered Nigerian boxer if he had his wish and represented Nigeria at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.

According to Nigerian boxing legend Jerry Okorodudu, Joshua wanted to represent Nigeria at the 2012 Olympics, but coaches in Nigeria told him he had no chance.

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"He asked to join the Nigerian trials but they told him if he was good enough he'd fight for England," Okorodudu told .

Joshua went into the 2012 London Olympics as a British fight and won Gold for Great Britain.

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to boxing.

Despite the rejection, Joshua still loves Nigeria and has several times credited his time in the country for his success as a boxer.

In a recent interview with, the 27-year-old revealed that he learnt more about discipline during his time in boarding school in Nigeria.