BoxRec

Joshua`s Nigerian heritage is well known, but what I only found out recently was that he moved there as a young kid and only came back to the uk in year seven i.e. 13 years old.

Having been to Nigeria several times with work, it`s no joke. Seriously tough place to grow up, unless you have money.

Does anyone know any more background to this with Joshua? Did his parents have money and he lived in one of the gated communities, or was he in on the streets with the rude boys?

People laugh at his Watford upbringing (mean streets of Watford etc) but if the lad lived in Nigeria or at least in places that I have seen in Nigeria until he was 13, then they make even the wort uk shitpit look like paradise.

What`s the story here? Pampered child with maid and butler, or street kid growing up hard in the Geria?

Not to split hairs but i assume Watford is the same as london proper so I think year 7 would mean he was 11 so he returned at the start of secondary school.

I saw yesterday hearn really tweeted a post by joshua about spending time with some child. I never knew he had a kid, I thought he still lives at home with his mum so seemed a bit strange but i guess no reason he doesnt live there with his kod, or does the kid not live with him?

World middleweight champion Terry Downes spent a lot of his childhood in the States (Baltimore if I am not mistaken) and was drafted into the US marines and made the US olympic team of 1956, until they found out he was a Brit..

His time stateside was a big influence on his boxing career... Joshua - he doesn't have to be Butler in a gated community to living in a Lagos slum - he could be in the middle - they had some affluence and money but compared to the average Brit on the dole, amounted not to much.

I knew quite a few wealthy Nigerians at my old university, and they would never consider slumming it in Watford, you know and I know that any Nigerian with wealth isn't leaving their palatial life in Lagos to live in a working class suburb on the outskirts of London. They are very similar to the Chinese, the rich ones would buy and sell us based on our combined capital.

forcefraser wrote:Joshua`s Nigerian heritage is well known, but what I only found out recently was that he moved there as a young kid and only came back to the uk in year seven i.e. 13 years old.

Having been to Nigeria several times with work, it`s no joke. Seriously tough place to grow up, unless you have money.

Does anyone know any more background to this with Joshua? Did his parents have money and he lived in one of the gated communities, or was he in on the streets with the rude boys?

People laugh at his Watford upbringing (mean streets of Watford etc) but if the lad lived in Nigeria or at least in places that I have seen in Nigeria until he was 13, then they make even the wort uk shitpit look like paradise.

What`s the story here? Pampered child with maid and butler, or street kid growing up hard in the Geria?

There is no middle ground in Nigeria, you are either rich or poor. I would love to share a long long email i had with a scammer from there who tried to con me.

Herbie Hide lives there now. Unfortunately he has no choice at the moment.

Strange country and if you ever go do not shop lift, and always keep your hands in your pockets. They have their own laws and some of the things ive seen are dreadful. Especially street justice.

mimmy123 wrote: There is no middle ground in Nigeria,

Course there is, my own mother comes from a third world country that has less GDP than Nigeria but even there - there is a middle class that exists between the super rich and the people who live in the pueblo jovenes - the bank managers, doctors, lawyers, army officers, policemen etc - they aren't all living in gated mansions with servants, the middle class might not be as large as the middle class in a first world country, but it exists.

No country, I don't care where it is - has no middle class whatsoever. That is how capitalism manages to exist in these places.

Joshua's family, I suspect, is somewhere in the middle classes of Nigerian society.

Fat Git wrote:World middleweight champion Terry Downes spent a lot of his childhood in the States (Baltimore if I am not mistaken) and was drafted into the US marines.....

It's been a few years since I read his biography but from what I remember he moved out there aged around 16 after his sister (a dancer in a troupe) lost her arm in an accident. The whole family went.

He was already a seasoned amateur back in London.

And after about a year he happily volunteered to join the marines. He wasn't drafted.

His time as a boxer in the Marines may have influenced his boxing style but early life in the chaos of post war London had already given him his inner steel.

My memory is not 100% on all this but I'd say he didn't spend "a lot" of his childhood in the States.

Taansend wrote:

Fat Git wrote:World middleweight champion Terry Downes spent a lot of his childhood in the States (Baltimore if I am not mistaken) and was drafted into the US marines.....

It's been a few years since I read his biography but from what I remember he moved out there aged around 16 after his sister (a dancer in a troupe) lost her arm in an accident. The whole family went.

He was already a seasoned amateur back in London.

And after about a year he happily volunteered to join the marines. He wasn't drafted.

His time as a boxer in the Marines may have influenced his boxing style but early life in the chaos of post war London had already given him his inner steel.

My memory is not 100% on all this but I'd say he didn't spend "a lot" of his childhood in the States.

Yeah, I have only read his book 'My Bleedin' Business' when I was 16 - which was nearly 30 years ago when I lent it from the library after requesting it.

So, though the memory might be hazy regarding his being drafted/volunteered into the Marines, he played up a lot of his American experiences when he came back to the UK to turn pro, including his 'Red Indian War Dance' when he came into the ring - his words - not mine.

mercman wrote:

Fat Git wrote:

mimmy123 wrote: There is no middle ground in Nigeria,

Course there is, my own mother comes from a third world country that has less GDP than Nigeria but even there - there is a middle class that exists between the super rich and the people who live in the pueblo jovenes - the bank managers, doctors, lawyers, army officers, policemen etc - they aren't all living in gated mansions with servants, the middle class might not be as large as the middle class in a first world country, but it exists.

No country, I don't care where it is - has no middle class whatsoever. That is how capitalism manages to exist in these places.

Joshua's family, I suspect, is somewhere in the middle classes of Nigerian society.

Hmmm. Only with you part of the way there, mate. Yes, most third-world countries do have a section of people who could be described as middle class and, as you say, they effectively run such countries by protecting the interests of the rich and keeping the rest of the population in their place.

But the middle-class also tends to be smaller and relatively less well off than in 'advanced nations'.There are, for example, often far fewer schoolteachers, civil servants, etc. than in the West, and those that exist usually have pretty poor conditions, low pay, etc.

ps. No idea about Joshua's background, though it would be interesting to know.

That is what I said in my second post, the middle classes in those countries are far smaller than they are in the first world, of course, places like the UK, Sweden, Germany put money and resources into building a large, relatively affluent middle classes by employing civil servants, medical staff etc which is largely absent in places like Nigeria - though it does exist there and like we both said - comparatively smaller than in a first world country.

I can't imagine Joshua being a Lagos street urchin, but I have no idea really.

Fat Git wrote:

mercman wrote:

Fat Git wrote:
Course there is, my own mother comes from a third world country that has less GDP than Nigeria but even there - there is a middle class that exists between the super rich and the people who live in the pueblo jovenes - the bank managers, doctors, lawyers, army officers, policemen etc - they aren't all living in gated mansions with servants, the middle class might not be as large as the middle class in a first world country, but it exists.

No country, I don't care where it is - has no middle class whatsoever. That is how capitalism manages to exist in these places.

Joshua's family, I suspect, is somewhere in the middle classes of Nigerian society.

Hmmm. Only with you part of the way there, mate. Yes, most third-world countries do have a section of people who could be described as middle class and, as you say, they effectively run such countries by protecting the interests of the rich and keeping the rest of the population in their place.

But the middle-class also tends to be smaller and relatively less well off than in 'advanced nations'.There are, for example, often far fewer schoolteachers, civil servants, etc. than in the West, and those that exist usually have pretty poor conditions, low pay, etc.

ps. No idea about Joshua's background, though it would be interesting to know.

That is what I said in my second post, the middle classes in those countries are far smaller than they are in the first world, of course, places like the UK, Sweden, Germany put money and resources into building a large, relatively affluent middle classes by employing civil servants, medical staff etc which is largely absent in places like Nigeria - though it does exist there and like we both said - comparatively smaller than in a first world country.

I can't imagine Joshua being a Lagos street urchin, but I have no idea really.

I'd like to hear more about this AJ period..... Hearn has never mentioned it; you would've thought there would be some press release about how hard Joshua had it and how humble AJ is to have lived through it.....

I reckon it doesn't fit the amateur 'narrative' Hearn rolls out.... and Joshua attended a private school in Nigeria, whilst bullying all his classmates and serving up to anyone interested

reggaereggae wrote:

Fat Git wrote:

mercman wrote:
Hmmm. Only with you part of the way there, mate. Yes, most third-world countries do have a section of people who could be described as middle class and, as you say, they effectively run such countries by protecting the interests of the rich and keeping the rest of the population in their place.

But the middle-class also tends to be smaller and relatively less well off than in 'advanced nations'.There are, for example, often far fewer schoolteachers, civil servants, etc. than in the West, and those that exist usually have pretty poor conditions, low pay, etc.

ps. No idea about Joshua's background, though it would be interesting to know.

That is what I said in my second post, the middle classes in those countries are far smaller than they are in the first world, of course, places like the UK, Sweden, Germany put money and resources into building a large, relatively affluent middle classes by employing civil servants, medical staff etc which is largely absent in places like Nigeria - though it does exist there and like we both said - comparatively smaller than in a first world country.

I can't imagine Joshua being a Lagos street urchin, but I have no idea really.

I'd like to hear more about this AJ period..... Hearn has never mentioned it; you would've thought there would be some press release about how hard Joshua had it and how humble AJ is to have lived through it.....

I reckon it doesn't fit the amateur 'narrative' Hearn rolls out.... and Joshua attended a private school in Nigeria, whilst bullying all his classmates and serving up to anyone interested

I think the worry Hearn has with it (and it is a genuine worry) is that the British public can go off a fighter who might not be perceived as a 'True Brit' Frank Bruno style, like with Lennox Lewis to a degree, even though Lewis did actually fight and win a gold for Canada in the Olympics, it took to near enough the end of his career for the public to really embrace him - I don't think Lennox has been back since retiring.

So, it is a risk they have about putting Joshua's Nigerian childhood out there for scrutiny, it would make his background more colourful though if they did market it. That is what I think, and the public have matured a lot since Lennox was coming through the ranks, the problem for Lewis was the publics love of Bruno rather than his Canadian background. I think Lennox would have been embraced more if Bruno wasn't around.

Course he's been back. He was in the ring with Bruno at Haye-Harrison, plus I can think of interviews and other times he's been over here.

SNG wrote:Course he's been back. He was in the ring with Bruno at Haye-Harrison, plus I can think of interviews and other times he's been over here.

I was joking - hence - I will put two more for you the next time...

Fat Git wrote:

SNG wrote:Course he's been back. He was in the ring with Bruno at Haye-Harrison, plus I can think of interviews and other times he's been over here.

I was joking - hence - I will put two more for you the next time...

Fair do's. Went right over my head that.

Some interesting comments, I will search out the Tery Downes autobiography.

I would suggest that whilst the Camp Eddie PR machine is busy putting out stories about him being humble and having a video game addiction they are more busy in keeping other aspects of his life away from public scrutiny.

Unfortunately fame is a double edged sword, you can't just pick the good bits and not accept the not so good bits.

bripez wrote:Some interesting comments, I will search out the Tery Downes autobiography.

I would suggest that whilst the Camp Eddie PR machine is busy putting out stories about him being humble and having a video game addiction they are more busy in keeping other aspects of his life away from public scrutiny.

Unfortunately fame is a double edged sword, you can't just pick the good bits and not accept the not so good bits.

'My Bleedin' Business' a really good read, I utterly recommend it!

Fat Git wrote:

Taansend wrote:

Fat Git wrote:World middleweight champion Terry Downes spent a lot of his childhood in the States (Baltimore if I am not mistaken) and was drafted into the US marines.....

It's been a few years since I read his biography but from what I remember he moved out there aged around 16 after his sister (a dancer in a troupe) lost her arm in an accident. The whole family went.

He was already a seasoned amateur back in London.

And after about a year he happily volunteered to join the marines. He wasn't drafted.

His time as a boxer in the Marines may have influenced his boxing style but early life in the chaos of post war London had already given him his inner steel.

My memory is not 100% on all this but I'd say he didn't spend "a lot" of his childhood in the States.

Yeah, I have only read his book 'My Bleedin' Business' when I was 16 - which was nearly 30 years ago when I lent it from the library after requesting it.

So, though the memory might be hazy regarding his being drafted/volunteered into the Marines, he played up a lot of his American experiences when he came back to the UK to turn pro, including his 'Red Indian War Dance' when he came into the ring - his words - not mine.

Ha, we must be about the same age. I read it aged around 17, thirty years ago too. He was one of my favourites growing up.

I'll have to find an old copy on Amazon & read it again....

Fat Git wrote:

bripez wrote:Some interesting comments, I will search out the Tery Downes autobiography.

I would suggest that whilst the Camp Eddie PR machine is busy putting out stories about him being humble and having a video game addiction they are more busy in keeping other aspects of his life away from public scrutiny.

Unfortunately fame is a double edged sword, you can't just pick the good bits and not accept the not so good bits.

'My Bleedin' Business' a really good read, I utterly recommend it!

It was great. He's a very funny man.

mfc_se15 wrote:Not to split hairs but i assume Watford is the same as london proper so I think year 7 would mean he was 11 so he returned at the start of secondary school.

I saw yesterday hearn really tweeted a post by joshua about spending time with some child. I never knew he had a kid, I thought he still lives at home with his mum so seemed a bit strange but i guess no reason he doesnt live there with his kod, or does the kid not live with him?

Was a little bit in the paper today saying he has a 6month old love child with an 'on-off' girlfriend. Says he tried to keep the child a secret so it didn't distract him from his boxing or some guff like that. Also said he bought the child's mam a 500k home somewhere in London while he stays in a council house with his old dear. Seems pretty strange but each to their own.

Stuarty30 wrote:

mfc_se15 wrote:Not to split hairs but i assume Watford is the same as london proper so I think year 7 would mean he was 11 so he returned at the start of secondary school.

I saw yesterday hearn really tweeted a post by joshua about spending time with some child. I never knew he had a kid, I thought he still lives at home with his mum so seemed a bit strange but i guess no reason he doesnt live there with his kod, or does the kid not live with him?

Was a little bit in the paper today saying he has a 6month old love child with an 'on-off' girlfriend. Says he tried to keep the child a secret so it didn't distract him from his boxing or some guff like that. Also said he bought the child's mam a 500k home somewhere in London while he stays in a council house with his old dear. Seems pretty strange but each to their own.

No, it's part of the humble / clean cut / nice guy PR narrative. He only admitted this when the sun got wind of it and confronted him. And then he released a tweet about how great it was to spend time with a child he probably has nothing to do with the woman since he got big.... Think about it... The child is 6 months old, so was conceived 15 months ago when he wasn't as big as he is now... He has surely dumped her and so far has nothing to do with the child (too busy to rimming Stormzy and Eddie).

The girl probably contacted the sun, now they have their story, Joshua released a tweet and press release about a kid he has never seen (notice no photos of him and child.) so they all came to some agreement about a story, a payment, AJ says he has bought her a 0.5 million pound house....he probably hasn't but has agreed to either rent this girl a house or pay for the child....

So the end result is: AJ can continue his humble, down to earth crap, the Sun and other papers get a free exclusive, and the girl gets maintenance pay.

I cannot believe anyone with a bit of media savvy would think anything else... It's pathetic and so transparent

reggaereggae wrote:

Stuarty30 wrote:

mfc_se15 wrote:Not to split hairs but i assume Watford is the same as london proper so I think year 7 would mean he was 11 so he returned at the start of secondary school.

I saw yesterday hearn really tweeted a post by joshua about spending time with some child. I never knew he had a kid, I thought he still lives at home with his mum so seemed a bit strange but i guess no reason he doesnt live there with his kod, or does the kid not live with him?

Was a little bit in the paper today saying he has a 6month old love child with an 'on-off' girlfriend. Says he tried to keep the child a secret so it didn't distract him from his boxing or some guff like that. Also said he bought the child's mam a 500k home somewhere in London while he stays in a council house with his old dear. Seems pretty strange but each to their own.

No, it's part of the humble / clean cut / nice guy PR narrative. He only admitted this when the sun got wind of it and confronted him. And then he released a tweet about how great it was to spend time with a child he probably has nothing to do with the woman since he got big.... Think about it... The child is 6 months old, so was conceived 15 months ago when he wasn't as big as he is now... He has surely dumped her and so far has nothing to do with the child (too busy to rimming Stormzy and Eddie).

The girl probably contacted the sun, now they have their story, Joshua released a tweet and press release about a kid he has never seen (notice no photos of him and child.) so they all came to some agreement about a story, a payment, AJ says he has bought her a 0.5 million pound house....he probably hasn't but has agreed to either rent this girl a house or pay for the child....

So the end result is: AJ can continue his humble, down to earth crap, the Sun and other papers get a free exclusive, and the girl gets maintenance pay.

I cannot believe anyone with a bit of media savvy would think anything else... It's pathetic and so transparent

Yeah as I said it's pretty strange man. You are most likely right. I hadn't really gave it much more thought other than 'that's strange' but now you mention it...

Can imagine the manic panic when they got wind the papers had gotten hold of the story. Fast Eddie calling round everyone he can to try and get a hold of a little black baby while trying to arrange a photographer to come and take pictures of AJ holding him. They must've gave the mam a good deal because that story could've been a Sun on Sunday special. #NotSoHumble

aj is irish heritage .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1DqW2rzIS0. so i cant weight for an all ireland fight with the other big irish man fury in Croke park

Stuarty30 wrote:

reggaereggae wrote:

Stuarty30 wrote:
Was a little bit in the paper today saying he has a 6month old love child with an 'on-off' girlfriend. Says he tried to keep the child a secret so it didn't distract him from his boxing or some guff like that. Also said he bought the child's mam a 500k home somewhere in London while he stays in a council house with his old dear. Seems pretty strange but each to their own.

No, it's part of the humble / clean cut / nice guy PR narrative. He only admitted this when the sun got wind of it and confronted him. And then he released a tweet about how great it was to spend time with a child he probably has nothing to do with the woman since he got big.... Think about it... The child is 6 months old, so was conceived 15 months ago when he wasn't as big as he is now... He has surely dumped her and so far has nothing to do with the child (too busy to rimming Stormzy and Eddie).

The girl probably contacted the sun, now they have their story, Joshua released a tweet and press release about a kid he has never seen (notice no photos of him and child.) so they all came to some agreement about a story, a payment, AJ says he has bought her a 0.5 million pound house....he probably hasn't but has agreed to either rent this girl a house or pay for the child....

So the end result is: AJ can continue his humble, down to earth crap, the Sun and other papers get a free exclusive, and the girl gets maintenance pay.

I cannot believe anyone with a bit of media savvy would think anything else... It's pathetic and so transparent

Yeah as I said it's pretty strange man. You are most likely right. I hadn't really gave it much more thought other than 'that's strange' but now you mention it...

Can imagine the manic panic when they got wind the papers had gotten hold of the story. Fast Eddie calling round everyone he can to try and get a hold of a little black baby while trying to arrange a photographer to come and take pictures of AJ holding him. They must've gave the mam a good deal because that story could've been a Sun on Sunday special. #NotSoHumble

Yeah AJ is all PR... And as Tuan_Jim very wittily and cleverly said.... Joshua is the Uriah Heep of steroid heavyweight boxing. A total supercilious fake. He's about as real as Katie Price's tits... Everything is a PR release or media trained answer. Joshua's guard drops sometimes (metaphorically and actually) and I can't believe the 'alleged' egotistical roid rage can be kept in for much longer.

He will lose his mind with this fake thespian performance and suddenly explode. Maybe even on Eddie.

And as to this child ..... There's only been one photo released, and it seems to have blue eyes, which is slightly odd for a full blood nigerian's child. That's not much evidence as I'm not a geneticist, but really..... If anyone doesn't think there's something going on that's suspicious in this situation, they are on AJ's PR team..... Let's see what happens in the next few weeks

mimmy123 wrote:

forcefraser wrote:Joshua`s Nigerian heritage is well known, but what I only found out recently was that he moved there as a young kid and only came back to the uk in year seven i.e. 13 years old.

Having been to Nigeria several times with work, it`s no joke. Seriously tough place to grow up, unless you have money.

Does anyone know any more background to this with Joshua? Did his parents have money and he lived in one of the gated communities, or was he in on the streets with the rude boys?

People laugh at his Watford upbringing (mean streets of Watford etc) but if the lad lived in Nigeria or at least in places that I have seen in Nigeria until he was 13, then they make even the wort uk shitpit look like paradise.

What`s the story here? Pampered child with maid and butler, or street kid growing up hard in the Geria?

There is no middle ground in Nigeria, you are either rich or poor. I would love to share a long long email i had with a scammer from there who tried to con me.

Herbie Hide lives there now. Unfortunately he has no choice at the moment.

Strange country and if you ever go do not shop lift, and always keep your hands in your pockets. They have their own laws and some of the things ive seen are dreadful. Especially street justice.

Herbie Hide is still in Norwich, I don't know where you got he is living in Nigeria from..

Tommy Gunn13 wrote:

mimmy123 wrote:

forcefraser wrote:Joshua`s Nigerian heritage is well known, but what I only found out recently was that he moved there as a young kid and only came back to the uk in year seven i.e. 13 years old.

Having been to Nigeria several times with work, it`s no joke. Seriously tough place to grow up, unless you have money.

Does anyone know any more background to this with Joshua? Did his parents have money and he lived in one of the gated communities, or was he in on the streets with the rude boys?

People laugh at his Watford upbringing (mean streets of Watford etc) but if the lad lived in Nigeria or at least in places that I have seen in Nigeria until he was 13, then they make even the wort uk shitpit look like paradise.

What`s the story here? Pampered child with maid and butler, or street kid growing up hard in the Geria?

There is no middle ground in Nigeria, you are either rich or poor. I would love to share a long long email i had with a scammer from there who tried to con me.

Herbie Hide lives there now. Unfortunately he has no choice at the moment.

Strange country and if you ever go do not shop lift, and always keep your hands in your pockets. They have their own laws and some of the things ive seen are dreadful. Especially street justice.

Herbie Hide is still in Norwich, I don't know where you got he is living in Nigeria from..

Thats great news actually.

He was in Graham Everetts kick stop gym recently, so I presume he's still living local.