England-based Nigerian boxer Oluwatosin Kejawa believes Nigeria has a lot of talents, but says a move outside the country would help the progress of athletes like himself.
The 22-year-old light-heavyweight is a former two-time Nigerian amateur boxing champion.
“Boxing is not that big in Nigeria,” Kejawa said. “In Africa, it is very hard to build a career as a boxer. There are no good promoters. It’s impossible to find sponsorships, but in the UK, things are different. I came to the UK to continue and advance my boxing career.
“Nigeria has got a lot of boxing talents, but there, they don’t use them well and they are not really valued. Here, I can grow better, and train with other professionals with better equipment that can help me carry the hopes of Nigerians better,” he told PUNCH Sports Extra.
Kejawa, alongside 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Elizabeth Oshoba train in western England, supported by promotional company Neilson Boxing.
On Monday night, Kejawa and British-Nigerian light-heavyweight champion Dan Azeez sparred together at a south London boxing gym ahead of both fighter’s upcoming fights in the United Kingdom.
Born in Lagos, Kejawa is Nigerian through and through, while Azeez, born to first-generation Nigerian immigrants, is an English champion who almost represented Nigeria in 2014 at the Commonwealth Games.
“In 2014, the year I turned pro, I almost gave it up so that I could represent my fatherland at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. I was invited by Nigerian sports authorities and truly wanted to go, but it was the wrong time because that would have affected my pro career.
“Everybody thought I was ready; my trainers, my colleagues and friends, but I wasn’t so sure of myself. It was a difficult time for me. It all came down to the fact of, if I can’t be the best here (England), then why go elsewhere where it will possibly be easier and I have more chance of being at the top.
“I’m all about the hard graft and grit, and I would rather be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a mighty ocean. I spoke to my family members and my mentors and when I eventually decided to go pro, it was down to me, winning, here is my own way of showing the Nigerian spirit,” he said.
In another form of the ‘Jollof rivalry’, Azeez is preparing to fight British professional boxer of Ghanaian descent Joshua Buatsi October 21 at the 02 Arena in London, which was why he invited Kejawa to spar with him.
Azeez says his fight with Joshua Buatsi could decide who is the UK’s number one light-heavyweight.
“Honoured to be asked to spar Dan Azeez for his upcoming domestic fight with Joshua Buatsi, top level work with the main man,” Kejawa wrote on his Instagram page.
Kejawa also returns to action October 28 at the Vale Sport Arena in Cardiff, United Kingdom although his next opponent is not yet confirmed.