“My name is Tijani Abdulazeez, people call me TJ Computer. I am 15-years-old and I am a boxer.”
And for fans of the teenager, he’s not just any boxer but a future champion of Nigeria.
TJ trains in a low-income neighborhood on the outskirts of Lagos having taken up the sport at an early age.
“I started boxing at age two, my dad introduced me to boxing and I love the way he introduced me to it. The first technique he taught me was, that he taught me how to block, how-to guide and how to stand on my boxing position that’s how I started boxing.”
The training is rudimentary.
TJ and other boys skip, lunge and do push-ups on a dusty patch of ground between houses.
For sparring practice they lay down rubber mats in the shape of a ring, but TJ wants to go to the next level.
He hopes to be spotted by a scout, preferably from the Nigerian diaspora.
The dream is to be taken to a country where he can train at a professional indoor gym, and compete with the best.
“I want to become a professional fighter, international fighter like Anthony Joshua, Mike Tyson, Tyson Fury and I want to represent Nigeria.”
For those who have watched him fight, such an ambition is within his reach.
At an open air match in another part of Lagos a sizeable crowd cheers on the young fighters.
Among them, amateur boxer Akeem Kilani.
“You can tell he is our champion and he will be Nigeria’s champion tomorrow.”
The outcome of the bout? Another trophy for TJ’s already sizeable collection – and the teen hopes to add more by touring the country in the coming months.