LAGOS, Nigeria – Britain’s former two-time world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua was hospitalized in stable condition on Monday after being involved in a car crash in Nigeria that killed two people, who were his close friends and teammates, his promoter said.
eddie hearn’s matchroom boxing said on x Joshua “suffered injuries in the crash and was taken to the hospital for evaluation and treatment” and will “remain there for observation.” It named Sina Ghaemi and Lateef Ayodele as the two passengers who “tragically died.”
Pictures on social media showed Joshua being pulled out of a damaged vehicle as he writhed in pain.
“After thorough clinical evaluation, medical professionals have confirmed that both patients [hospitalized after the accident] are stable and do not require any emergency medical intervention at this time,” a joint statement from the Lagos and Ogun state governments said.
Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotoso, confirmed the accident in a post on X, and said the government had dispatched ambulances to the crash site.
The accident occurred at about 11am local time on a major thoroughfare – the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which links Ogun State to the country’s economic capital, Lagos. The homeland of Joshua’s parents is Nigeria.
In a statement, Ogun State Police said Joshua was in the rear of a Lexus SUV and the “circumstances” of the accident were being investigated.
“The accident was caused by a tire burst on AJ’s vehicle, causing the driver to lose control and ram the vehicle into a truck parked on the roadside,” Ogun State Police Commissioner Lanre Ogunlowo told ESPN.
According to Olusegun Ogungbemide, spokesperson for the Federal Road Safety Corps, preliminary investigation indicated that the vehicle “was traveling beyond the legally prescribed speed limit on the corridor, lost control during overtaking and crashed into a stationary truck,” which was on the side of the road.
Joshua defeated YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul Via sixth round knockout On December 19 in a bout in Miami, which he was using to gain strength in the ring. He lost the world heavyweight title to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021.
“Life is more important than boxing,” Paul posted to X. “I’m praying for the lives lost, AJ, and anyone affected by today’s unfortunate accident.”
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu called Joshua to the hospital.
“I spoke to AJ on the phone to personally express my condolences on the deaths of his two colleagues,” the president said on Twitter. I wished for his full and speedy recovery and prayed with him.
No further details were provided about Joshua’s condition.
Hearn previously told Daily Mail Sport that he was “on a family holiday and woke up to the news of the incident.
“We don’t want to speculate on how [Joshua] But thankfully he looks fine from what I’ve seen in the images,” Hearn said.
Joshua briefly went to boarding school in Nigeria at the age of 11. Ahead of his fight against Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019, Joshua returned there for the first time in 17 years.
He is in talks to fight fellow Briton Tyson Fury in 2026.
ESPN’s Colin Udoh and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
