News of Anthony Joshua’s involvement in a serious road accident has “come to the family as a shock,” according to a relative.
The 36-year-old British boxer was a passenger in a vehicle that struck a stationary lorry on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway close to Makun.
Joshua escaped with only minor injuries despite the apparent severity of the collision.
However, two other people lost their lives and were pronounced dead at the scene.
“We are hoping for his speedy recovery and also the people who passed away – I pray for the departed to rest in peace,” the family member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the BBC.
The relative explained that the former heavyweight world champion had been making his way from Lagos to see his family, a trip he traditionally makes at this time of year.
“He’s normally coming around for the new year. We haven’t seen him so we were expecting him,” they added.
Anthony Joshua appeared dazed in video footage that emerged on social media after his car crash | X
The expressway is one of Nigeria’s most heavily trafficked routes, linking the nation’s biggest city to Ibadan in the southwest.
The former two-time unified heavyweight champion is believed to have emerged from the incident with relatively little physical harm, though the crash itself appears to have been significant.
Video footage that has spread across social media appears to show the British fighter sitting without a shirt amongst the debris of a Lexus Jeep, with broken glass scattered around him and a visibly dazed expression on his face.
Anthony Joshua has emerged from the car crash with minor injuries
| PA
Further images captured Joshua in the front seat of an emergency services vehicle, engaged in conversation with officials who had responded to the incident.
The boxer, who has Nigerian roots, makes frequent trips to the West African country and retains close ties there.
Just hours prior to the collision, Joshua had posted to his Instagram stories, sharing a clip of himself playing table tennis shirtless with another individual, captioning it: “@healthy_mindset dishing out table tennis smoke.”
The accident occurred less than a fortnight after Joshua’s return to the ring against Jake Paul in Miami, Florida.
It marked the heavyweight’s first bout since his emphatic loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024, and the 36-year-old appeared rusty in the opening rounds after his lengthy absence from competition.
Anthony Joshua beat Jake Paul in six rounds earlier this month | GETTY
Nevertheless, Joshua secured a sixth-round knockout to dash the 28-year-old American’s hopes of pulling off a major upset.
Following the fight, Joshua acknowledged his performance had fallen short of his best.
“It wasn’t the best performance. The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down, hurt him – that has been the request leading up,” he said.
“It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally found its destination.”
