12/29/25 01:21:00
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12/29 13:20 CST Former boxing champion Anthony Joshua has 'minor injuries'
after 2 die in car accident in Nigeria
Former boxing champion Anthony Joshua has 'minor injuries' after 2 die in car
accident in Nigeria
Associated Press
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) --- Anthony Joshua, the British boxer and former world
heavyweight champion, was hospitalized Monday with "minor injuries" after a car
accident that killed two other passengers in Nigeria.
The Lagos state commissioner for information, Gbenga Omotoso, confirmed the
accident in a post on X, adding that the government had sent ambulances to the
crash site.
The crash occurred on a major thoroughfare, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which
links Ogun state to Lagos, the country's economic capital, at about 11 a.m.
local time. Nigeria is the homeland of Joshua's parents.
Ogun State Police said in a statement: "The vehicle conveying Mr. Joshua, a
Lexus SUV, was involved in the accident under circumstances that are currently
being investigated. Joshua, seated in the rear of the vehicle, sustained minor
injuries and is receiving medical attention with another injured person."
According to a statement by Olusegun Ogungbemide, spokesperson for the Federal
Road Safety Corps, preliminary investigations indicated the vehicle was
"traveling beyond the legally prescribed speed limit on the corridor, lost
control during an overtaking maneuver and crashed into a stationary truck,"
which was by the side of the road.
The Ogun state government said that "preliminary reports indicate that two male
foreign nationals died on the spot." AP has not been able to independently
verify their identities.
?Life is much more important than boxing'
Joshua beat YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on Dec. 19 in a bout in Miami,
which he was using to regain sharpness in the ring. He lost the world
heavyweight title in 2021 to Oleksandr Usyk.
"Life is much more important than boxing. I am praying for the lost lives, AJ
and anyone impacted by today's unfortunate accident," Paul said Monday.
Photos on social media show the boxer being extricated from a wrecked vehicle
while he was wincing in pain.
"Anthony Joshua is in an undisclosed hospital being treated for his injuries,"
Lanre Ogunlowo, the commissioner of police for Ogun state, told the AP. He said
he has no further information on the injuries.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn told Daily Mail Sport he is attempting to find
out the extent of Joshua's injuries, saying: "I am away on a family holiday and
awoke to the news of this incident.
"We are trying to contact Anthony and in the meantime we don't want to
speculate on how he is but thankfully he appears OK from what I have seen in
the images."
Joshua briefly went to boarding school in Nigeria at the age of 11. He returned
there for the first time in 17 years in 2019, ahead of a fight against Andy
Ruiz Jr.
Joshua has been in talks to fight fellow Briton Tyson Fury in 2026.
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AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing
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