Two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was injured in a horror car crash in Nigeria this morning, hours after he was seen laughing and playing table tennis with a pal
Boxing superstar Anthony Joshua was captured enjoying a carefree game of table tennis with a close mate just hours before he was caught up in a devastating car crash that claimed two lives. The shirtless 36-year-old was filmed playing with longtime friend Kevin Ayodele, who had travelled to Miami the previous week to cheer on Joshua during his exhibition bout against influencer Jake Paul.
Posting a short video of their relaxed match, Joshua captioned it on Instagram: “@healthy_mindset dishing out table tennis smoke.” Images on Ayodele’s social media show the duo posing bare-chested beside a swimming pool five days earlier, with the message: “Looking like we just swam back from Miami.”
Ayodele, a former non-League footballer whose clubs included Aylesbury United, Tooting and Mitcham United and Hillingdon Borough, has remained a steadfast companion to the Watford-born champion throughout his career.
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He’s been spotted alongside Joshua on countless occasions over the years and has occupied ringside seats for some of his most significant battles, including the epic showdown against Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium in 2017.
The British heavyweight sustained injuries in a collision on the Ogun-Lagos state expressway in Nigeria earlier this morning (Monday). Joshua has ancestral connections to Sagamu, a town in Ogun State, south-west Nigeria.
The accident happened shortly after 11am when the Lexus Jeep carrying Joshua smashed into a stationary lorry on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in Makun, according to local media reports. Images and videos circulating online depict Joshua being extracted from the wreckage of what seems to be a damaged car.
The Ogun State Police Command has confirmed that two individuals lost their lives in the accident, and that Joshua, along with other injured parties, have been transported to “an undisclosed hospital”.
Eyewitness Adeniyi Orojo relayed to Nigerian newspaper The Punch that a Lexus and Pajero were involved in the collision. He stated: “Joshua was seated behind the driver, with another person beside him.
“There was also a passenger sitting beside the driver, making four occupants in the Lexus that crashed. His security detail was in the vehicle behind them before the crash.
“Other eyewitnesses and I began the rescue and flagged down oncoming vehicles to assist. A few minutes after the crash, officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps arrived.”
Joshua’s promoter, Hearn, revealed that he learned about the crash while on a family holiday and that he was frantically trying to get in touch with the former world champion.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Hearn said: “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.
“We are awaiting more information on what has happened and will update in due course.”
