Anthony Joshua locked eyes with Deontay Wilder in a tense stare-down as the former rivals crossed paths at The O2 in London on Saturday night. Joshua was making his first major public appearance since a car crash in Nigeria last December, which left two of his close friends dead.
The former two-time heavyweight champion was seen on camera staring intently at Wilder as the American walked past him in the arena's backstage area, less than two hours before Wilder's fight against Derek Chisora. Joshua appeared to pay no attention to the Briton, instead fixing his gaze on Wilder.
Joshua's car crash occurred days after he knocked out Jake Paul in the sixth round. He escaped injury, but his friends and teammates Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele were killed. The Londoner has been recovering and has not been seen publicly in the UK since, although he attended a boxing event in Ukraine with Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua arrived at The O2 with promoter Eddie Hearn to watch Chisora's final professional fight. He is also expected to attend next weekend's clash between Tyson Fury and Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Joshua is currently training with Usyk in Spain ahead of a potential comeback in July.
A fight with Fury had been pencilled in for the autumn but is likely to be delayed due to Joshua's accident. Hearn said after visiting Joshua in Spain: 'Incredible few days in camp with Anthony Joshua and the Usyk team. I've never seen AJ work so hard or as focused. The road is long but make no mistake the return will be one of the most inspirational and powerful stories in sporting history.'
