Anthony Joshua returned to his roots with Fela Kuti’s ‘Water No Get Enemy’

Anthony Joshua entered the boxing arena in Riyadh listening and dancing to the inspirational music of the late Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti.
His entrance song of choice before he regained his world heavyweight boxing titles from Andy Ruiz Jr in Riyadh was ‘Water No Get Enemy’ by Fela. His musical choice won him win the hearts of fans all over the world, particularly those in Africa, who believed he returned to his roots through Fela’s Afrobeat music.

It all started in Africa

The British boxer of Nigerian descent was born in Watford, and represented England at the 2012 Olympics where he won gold, but it seems Africa, and indeed Nigeria has had a massive influence on the life of Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua, popularly known as AJ.

His mother Yeta is a Nigerian, and his father Robert Joshua is of Nigerian and Irish ancestry. AJ’s Nigerian background can be specifically traced back to his early years in Mayflower boarding school in Ikenne. At age 12, his parents went through a divorce and he returned to the UK halfway through year seven to join Kings Langley Secondary School. Growing up on the Meriden Estate in Garston, Hertfordshire, he was called “Femi” by his friends and former teachers, due to his middle name, Oluwafemi.

Tattoo

AJ, the Ijebu boy who once described himself as a Shagamite, because Shagamu is his father’s hometown, has an interesting tattoo about his heritage inked on his arm. “I learnt more about my family’s history and I ended up getting an Africa tattoo,” he said.
Above his African tattoo AJ has the word Wisdom inscribed on his arm as well. “It was a nice combination to have ‘Wisdom’ and your heritage tattooed underneath, so it went well,” he said.

AJ says he’s always learning, so wisdom is an important word him. “I always seek wisdom and and knowledge like the wise men” he said of the tattoo before fighting Klitschko in November 2016.

Wisdom

AJ’s approach to his first fight with Andy Ruiz Jr, in the United States six months earlier was not a very wise decision. AJ seemed to underestimate the Mexican who caused him to lose his title by defeating the Brit via a seventh-round Technical Knock Out.

But AJ, who was humble in defeat, took solace in the wise counsel of his coaches and veteran boxers like Mike Tyson, Klitchko, and the rest. He changed his tactics, lost a bit of weight to boost his speed, improved on his jabbing, legwork, and resisted the temptation to trade punches unnecessarily. He was very cunning and wise as a fox when he met Ruiz in the rematch in Riyadh.

During the rematch we saw AJ outfox Ruiz with jabs and by dancing around the ring. AJ continued supplying one jab after another to Ruiz. That tactic was a clever move that made him regain his titles as he jabbed and held off his dangerous, shorter opponent so well all night. As a result, Ruiz lost and relinquished all titles back to AJ.

After losing the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles to AJ, Ruiz admits, “I was chasing him too much, hesitating too much,” he says.

Water no get enemy

AJ won the fight by unanimous decision. Afterwards, the two men hugged in the centre of the ring, and it’s clear AJ has no animosity to the guy who took away his titles in June 2019. The Shagamite does not make an enemy of his opponents, just like the song implies.

The 1975 Fela’s track “Water No Get Enemy” is a metaphor about the importance and power of water. You can’t win it in a fight, you can’t do without it, and you must learn to respect and make good use of it, because water has no enemies.

Just as he was humble in defeat when he lost his titles in June 2019 to Ruiz, he was equally respectful and showed no hostility when he regained his titles in a rematch with the Mexican in December of the same year.