Anthony Joshua has spoken about his late friends (Image: Anthony Joshua / YouTube)
Anthony Joshua fought back tears as he opened up on the loss of two of his closest friends and team-mates in a tragic car crash in Nigeria. The 36-year-old was a passenger in an SUV travelling along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on the morning of December 29, when their vehicle collided with a stationary lorry parked at the roadside.
The crash resulted in the immediate death of two men – identified as Sina Ghami and Kevin Ayodele – while Joshua was rushed to hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Now, in a heartfelt message on his YouTube channel, Joshua has opened up about how this tragedy has impacted his life over the past month. Joshua said: “This is the best way I could reach out to all of you far and wide, worldwide who are showing so much love, care, support through that tragic, traumatic time where we lost Lats and Sina in Nigeria.
“The last time I spoke to you guys was in Miami. We had so many plans to wrap up 2025 and we were on a mission. We were on a mission. We went back home, went to see our families, and everything just got flipped upside on its head.
“God’s the best planner. We can plan to the best of our capabilities, but that was such an unforeseen circumstance that was out of all of our control. Not only did their parents, their uncles, their cousins, their friends and myself lose two great men, we lost people who we dearly care about and have been major players in all of our lives.
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“It’s tough, it’s really tough. I’m not going to sit here and show all of my emotions. I know in today’s day and age it’s easy to micro-analyse people and pass judgement, but I know what I film and that’s all that matters to me. I know what my duty is.
Anthony Joshua lost two of his team-mates (Image: healthy_mindset/Instagram)
“They’re my brothers, my friends, first and foremost. Then we became business partners, we became hustlers, we became lieutenants, we became generals, we became everything. We became housemates, we were living together.”
After pausing briefly to compose himself, visibly emotional, Joshua continued: “Yeah, it’s a shame. It’s a shame. So there’s that side of things and what can I say? One day my time will come, and I’m not scared either. At all.
“It’s actually comforting knowing that I’ve got two brothers on the other side. I’ve lost people before, but I don’t think I’ve lost people like that, my left and my right. Throughout this journey that I’ve been on…it’s not easy. I didn’t even realise that, I’m the big guy.
“But I was walking with giants, kept me protected, kept me shielded. But the mission must go on. I understand my duty I understand what they wanted to do for their families. So my goal is to continue to help them achieve their goals.
“Even though they may not be here in the physical, when I pray at night, when I pray in the morning, I know spiritually, they’re going to aid me through because it’s not just physical strength that’s going to get me through. It’s going to take a lot of strength from the higher power, so I’m going to be definitely saying my prayers and I’m going to help them fulfil their dreams for their families.”