Anthony Joshua’s uncle says the former world champion has informed his family he will retire following the fatal car crash which killed two of his close friends.
The former two-time heavyweight world champion was a passenger in the Lexus SUV which collided with a stationary truck on a major expressway near Lagos, Nigeria last week. Tragically, the crash claimed the lives of Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele. Their funerals took place on Sunday at a mosque in London.
Before attending the funeral, ‘AJ’ posted two images on Instagram on Sunday, sitting alongside his mother and three other women, one of whom clutched a photograph of Ghami. The British boxing star captioned the post ‘My Brothers Keeper’.
Just days after the fatal incident, the Brit is weighing up his options and is seriously considering calling it a day. According to reports, Joshua made the decision ‘known to his family in private’ following last week’s crash in Nigeria. “The major thing there is that he has retired from boxing. That is one thing that makes us glad because each time he’s fighting in the ring, we are always carried away emotionally,” Adedamola reportedly said.
“Each time he’s knocked down, it is just like the heart is coming out of our chest. All these emotional feelings whenever he’s fighting, it’s too much trauma for us, also. Now that he has said that he’s leaving while the ovation is highest, we are happy.” Despite the claims made in Nigeria, other reports say AJ has yet to make a decision on his future.
On Sunday, the coffins of both Ghami and Ayodele were positioned by side as the Janaza – the Islamic funeral prayer – was read. Hundreds of members had gathered outside the gates of the mosque to pay their respects before the coffins were taken to a nearby crematorium for the funeral service.
The Ogun State Police Command confirmed on Friday that Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode – who was driving the car with Joshua as a passenger – had been charged over the crash at the Sagamu Magistrate Court. He was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, reckless and negligent driving, driving without due care, and driving without a valid driver’s licence.
“The defendant was granted bail in the sum of five million naira ($3,480) with two sureties. He was remanded pending when he meets his bail condition,” DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi told AFP.
Joshua spent several days receiving hospital treatment before being discharged on New Year’s Eve. The former two-time heavyweight world champion returned to the UK on Friday. An eyewitness, Ajala Yusuf, watched Joshua being pulled from the car and revealed what he saw to Sky News. “He was shocked at the deadliness of the incident,” Yusuf began. “He was shocked. He couldn’t talk.”
He added: “We heard a noise, boom. We thought it was one of those trucks whose tyre had burst. We then saw a car drive under a truck that was parked on the highway, and we rushed down to see what had happened.”
Stunning reports emerged last week that Joshua was initially seated in the front seat of the vehicle before being asked to move to the back by the driver – which effectively saved his life. After Kayode was charged, his lawyer told The Mail: “My client has pleaded not guilty and what happened was an accident.
“I haven’t had a full chance to speak with him yet but I know he is saying the brakes did not work. I also understand that the journey started in Lagos and that initially Anthony had got into the front seat but the driver asked him to swap seats. He did this because Anthony is a big fellow and he couldn’t see the wing mirror properly so he asked him to move and he sat behind the driver. From what I understand Latif was in front and then changed seats with Anthony.”
The Brit had been enjoying some time away in Nigeria following his win over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. In a rather dull an uninspiring money-spinning Netflix enouncter, ‘AJ’ eventually scored a vicious knockout in the sixth-round. It was not all doom and gloom for the Brit after it was revealed that he had pocketed £70million from the bout.
Just days before their showdown, the boxing fraternity were left stunned after reports suggested that Joshua and Fury had agreed to fight in 2026. But boxing promoter Frank Warren is now unsure whether a clash will materialise following the tragic crash last week.
He said: “Well, boxing will certainly be the last thing on his [Joshua’s] mind, right now. He’s obviously lost two team members who were good, close friends who are now no longer with us, so that will be a big loss to him. I don’t know the extent of his injuries, but it’s also how mentally this will affect him. Boxing again will be the last thing on his mind, but tragedy can affect people in different ways; sometimes, you need something you can really focus on to pull through to the other side.”
The 36-year-old Watford native burst onto the scene after striking gold at the Olympic Games back in 2012. ‘AJ’ made his professional debut a year later, and it did not take long for him to establish himself as a household name in the heavyweight division. He first became a world champion back in 2015 after scoring a vicious knockout over Charles Martin, before successfully defending the title against Dominic Breazeale and Eric Molina.
Perhaps his most iconic night as a professional came in 2017, when he rose from the canvas to stop Wladimir Klitschko in a historic Wembley showdown. Wins over Carlos Takam, Joseph Parker and Alexander Povetkin followed before suffering a shock knockout defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 on his American debut.
In the immediate rematch, though, ‘AJ’ retained his titles with a shutout performance over the Mexican. The boxing star followed it up with a knockout win over Kubrat Pulev before suffering back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua was forced to start his career from scratch and showed signs of a resurgence following wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou. However, he failed in his quest to become a three-time world champion in September 2024 after he was brutally knocked out by fellow countryman Daniel Dubois in his last real test as a boxer.