After a dream season the 28-years-old, Nigerian origin Anthony Joshua odds on favourite to win the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

 

Anthony Joshua who was born in Watford to a Nigerian mother called Yeta Odusanya managed to defend his IBF and WBA titles in a controversial fight against late replacement C. Takam in front of 70,000 spectacles last week in Cardiff, Wales.

 

This victory along with his epic performance over Klitschko in April resonated in a way Joshua appears as the strongest favourite for this award. Joshua’s epic victory over Klitschko resonated in a way which those of his nearest contenders, Chris Froome and Lewis Hamilton, didn’t.

According to the boxing bookmakers “AJ’s popular appeal seems to have no bounds”. “And after a historic year in cementing his status at the best heavyweight in the world, it’s hard to look past the boxer for this year’s SPOTY” says Betway’s Alan Alger.

 Following this, nearest contender “Lewis Hamilton may feel hard done by, having become the most successful Brit in F1 history with a fourth world title at the weekend, but there’s little he can do when the AJ story is in full flow.”

 Nigerian Origin

 Even if Anthony Joshua doesn’t perform under Nigerian colours spent more than 5 years in Nigeria before returning to the UK during his childhood age. His ethnicity is Yoruba –middle name is Oluwafemi and a map of Africa is tattooed on right arm.