Anthony Joshua has been discharged from hospital in Nigeria, two days after a car crash that killed two of his close associates, authorities confirmed on Wednesday night. The 36-year-old British boxer was a passenger in the accident near Lagos on Monday, which claimed the lives of his personal trainer Latif Ayodele and strength and conditioning coach Sina Ghami.
Joshua, a two-time former heavyweight champion and 2012 Olympic gold medallist, had been under observation while recovering from minor injuries, according to his promoter. Lagos state commissioner for information and strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said in a statement on X that Joshua was discharged from the Lagoon hospital in Ikoyi on Wednesday afternoon after being deemed clinically fit to recuperate at home.
Omotoso added that Joshua and his mother visited a funeral home in Lagos to pay their final respects to his two departed friends as their bodies were being prepared for repatriation later that evening. The commissioner described the boxer as “heavy-hearted and full of emotions over the loss of his two close friends”. Just hours before the crash, Joshua and Ayodele had posted clips on social media of them playing table tennis together.
The incident has highlighted persistent concerns about road safety in Nigeria, where accidents are common. The country’s federal road safety corps recorded 5,421 deaths in 9,570 road accidents in 2024, with 340 more fatalities compared with the previous year.
Joshua had recently returned to the ring after a 15-month absence, defeating YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on 19 December.
