Dr Ezekiel Adamu, who is behind ambitious plans to promote Anthony Joshua’s first fight in Africa has revealed that he has the support of the Federal Government for the show to take place in early 2026, reports ringmagazine.com.
Adamu, the CEO of promotional group Balmoral, has partnered with Amir Khan Promotions for the Chaos in the Ring card headlined by Brandon Glanton’s grudge clash with Marcus Browne.
The show, which holds on October 1 in Lagos, has been described as “Nigeria’s biggest fight night ever,” but Adamu insists it is only the start. “We’ve got the population, we’ve got the infrastructure and we’ve got the technical know-how,” Adamu told The Ring.
“We see October 1 as just a little sneak peek. This is really just a showcase of what Nigeria is about and what we can make happen. We have big plans coming.”
Adamu, whose first event was a wedding, has promoted seven boxing shows in the last 12 months, but sees this as their first step into the big time, given the alliance with Khan and also the involvement of DAZN, which will broadcast the event.
He meets The Ring at New Peacock Gym in Essex, where a number of the fighters involved on October 1, including former British, Commonwealth and European light heavyweight champion, Dan Azeez, are training. Azeez, he says, has turned down more lucrative fight offers to box on the show such is his desire to perform in Africa.
And Adamu, an engaging and enthusiastic character, is convinced that a number of world boxing’s biggest stars are willing to follow suit due to their connections to Nigeria in particular.
“Of course there is Anthony Joshua,” he says. “But what about Efe Ajagba, Deontay Wilder, Lawrence Okolie and also Moses Itauma whose father is from Nigeria. In fact most of the heavyweight division has Nigerian blood in them.”
Given his commercial stature, it is no surprise that Joshua is Adamu’s prime target. The two-time world heavyweight champion was born just north of London in Watford but spent time at school in Nigeria and carries a tattoo of the country’s outline on his right shoulder in homage to his roots. His promoter Eddie Hearn has often suggested the possibility of Joshua returning to Africa to box as a professional, but the idea has so far been an abstract one.
Adamu said that he has not only held talks with Joshua and his team about a potential all-African derby in Nigeria but also confirmed that he hopes to stage the fight at the 50,000-capacity Abuja Stadium in Lagos in the first quarter of next year.
“We are going to get Joshua,” Adamu says. “I heard rumours about Joshua fighting in Ghana and I laughed it off because, for me, where is the story in there? Joshua is Nigerian.
“Now we have a big promotion and Nigeria is the biggest market. It’s a no-brainer for Joshua to fight in Nigeria. I spoke with him, I spoke with his team and they already said to me, ‘If we had an offer from Nigeria it’s a match made in heaven.’ Joshua has always said that before he ends his career he wants to fight in Nigeria and we are going to make that fight happen in Nigeria. How soon can that happen? Well we are looking at Q1 next year.
“It would likely be Abuja Stadium because it can take about 50,000 people. That’s our capital city, that’s where all the government people stay in as well so that would probably be it.
“For that it would definitely be two Africans. So we are thinking Joshua against maybe Tony Yoka, there is Martin Bakole and another friend of mine told me that Deontay Wilder wants to do an African fight, too. There are different names.”
