A video circulating online has revealed the extent of damage to a vehicle reportedly carrying British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua following a fatal road accident in Ogun State.
The footage, seen by the Star, shows a badly damaged car at the scene of the crash.
In the video, residents had gathered around the car in a bid to help after the crash.
The boxer, Anthony Joshua, was seen seated at the driver’s seat, injured.
Joshua was injured in a car crash in Nigeria, which killed two members of his team.
The former world champion was a passenger in a vehicle that collided with a stationary truck on a major expressway in Ogun State, near Lagos.
The two men who died were Joshua’s close friends and team members Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele, the boxer’s promoter, Matchroom Boxing said in a statement.
It added that Joshua was in a stable condition in hospital, where he was taken for “checks and treatment” and will remain for observation.
“Our deepest condolences and prayers are with the families and friends of all those affected – and we ask that their privacy is respected at this incredibly difficult time,” the Matchroom statement said.
The group’s chair, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, paid tribute to the “two great men” who were killed in the crash. “Rest in eternal peace, Sina and Latz. My thoughts and deepest prayers are with everyone,” he said.
Boxing expert Steve Bunce described Ghami and Ayodele as “two of Joshua’s closest friends” and as “massive parts of the Anthony Joshua machine”.
“They’ve been with him, if not from the start, at least very early on. Latz is AJ’s personal trainer, and Sina is his strength and conditioning man. They are with him all the time,” Bunce told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Hours before the crash, Joshua posted a video to Instagram of himself and Ayodele playing table tennis. Ghami had recently posted on social media from Lagos.
A joint statement from the Ogun and Lagos state governments said Joshua was stable and conscious, and had been in contact with his family.
They said earlier that Joshua had “narrowly escaped death” in the crash, and there will be a “comprehensive investigation” into what happened.
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said he had spoken to the 36-year-old boxer personally to convey his condolences and wish him a “full and speedy recovery”.
“AJ assured me he is receiving the best possible care,” he said in a post on X.
by PERPETUA ETYANG
