Truck towed from accident site
The truck that the SUV carrying AJ in collided with has now been removed from the crash site by Nigerian authorities.
Debris can be seen in the images showing the power of the impact that claimed the lives of two men in the vehicle.
Anatomy of the crash
Joshua was in one of the passenger seats in the back of the SUV that collided with the rear of a stationary truck. The Daily Mail understands the car’s tyre burst when it swerved and hit the truck.
Crash location:
The crash that saw AJ narrowly escape death and took the lives of two others occurred on the Lagos–Ibadan expressway before a Danco petrol station (highlighted below with red marker) near the Sagamu Interchange, north-east of Lagos.
‘Shock’ to Joshua’s family
A member of Joshua’s family who lives in Nigeria said the crash has shocked them all.
‘We are hoping for his speedy recovery and also the people who passed away – I pray for the departed to rest in peace, it has come to the family as a shock,’ they told the BBC.
‘He’s normally coming around for the new year. We haven’t seen him so we were expecting him.’
Joshua’s relationship with Nigeria
AJ was born in Watford but takes great pride in his Nigerian roots, with the family coming from Sagamu in the south-west.
His great-grandfather adopted the Joshua surname after converting to Christianity.
Joshua often features a Nigeria flag on his ring walks before big fights and one of his most prominent tattoos is the continent of Africa on his shoulder.
He regularly visits Nigeria, filmed an Under Armour campaign in the country and feels a deep connection with his heritage.
Fatalities were ‘foreign nationals’
The two people killed in the crash were ‘male foreign nationals’, according to Ogun’s state government.
They also confirm Joshua and the driver were rescued by security travelling with him in the car behind, per reports on Nigerian broadcaster Galaxy TV reports.
Jake Paul ‘praying for Joshua’
Joshua’s most recent opponent, YouTuber turned boxer, Jake Paul, has just reacted to news of the car crash.
Paul said that he is ‘praying for the lost live, AJ, and anyone impacted’
The key information we know
If you are just joining us, here is a recap of the major news we know around the car crash which has left Anthony Joshua injured and has seen two people killed.
The British boxing star, 36, was ‘rescued alive and sustained minor injuries’ and is understood to be receiving treatment in hospital.
The crash, along a busy stretch of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in Makun, happened at around 11am local time (10am GMT) on Monday.
Joshua was one of five men involved in the crash when the Lexus Jeep he was travelling in the back of ploughed into a stationary truck near a petrol station. His security entourage was following in a separate car.
Authorities said the black Lexus is believed to have been travelling ‘beyond the legally prescribed speed limit’ and lost control while making ‘an overtaking manoeuvre’.
Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps share images of the aftermath of the crash
Officials in Nigeria have released several images of the aftermath of the crash.
One shows a severely damaged car, pictured next to a police car and onlookers.
Two other images show the truck the jeep is understood to have crashed into.
Photos show how Anthony Joshua came within inches of death
The boxing champion, 36, was in a Lexus SUV when it smashed into a stationary truck shortly after 11am today on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in Makun.
Joshua had been expected to face Tyson Fury in February
It is unclear at this stage what injuries Joshua has suffered in the car crash.
With Joshua having been forecast to return to the ring as soon as February, an injury could well put that into doubt.
After beating Jake Paul earlier this month, Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn had urged Tyson Fury to sign on the dotted line and set-up arguably the biggest fight in British boxing history.
Fury is expected to come out of retirement next year after stepping away from the sport when he suffered a second consecutive loss to Oleksandr Usyk in May 2024.
Hearn said: ‘We want the Tyson Fury fight of course. That’s the fight, the biggest fight.
‘We can do that, by the way, straight away. No interim fights. If Tyson’s ready and AJ is ready, we don’t have to fight in February or March. I think he’s saying eight weeks, 24 hours to sign a contract.’
Before Joshua added: ‘The best promoter in the world has been speaking with Turki [Al-Sheikh], His Excellency, Riyadh Season, and now he’s going to relay those messages and speak to my training team.
‘I’m a strong guy. I want to push on – but the coaches, it’s really up to them, they’re the ones that guide me. Fighters will always fight, coaches are there to guide us.
‘They know what I’ve been through over the x amount of weeks I’ve been with them so it’s up to them to make a decision. They’re going to speak with Eddie, and then hopefully in a week or so, I’ll have some news.’
