Former boxing champion Anthony Joshua has 'minor injuries' after 2 die in car accident in Nigeria December 29, 2025 at 7:49 PM 0 1 / 2Joshua Paul BoxingAnthony Joshua stands on stage during a faceoff against Jake Paul at a news conference promoting their upcoming heavyweight boxing match, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Anthony Joshua, the British boxer and former world heavyweight champion, was hospitalized Monday with "minor injuries" after a car accident that killed two other passengers in Nigeria.
- - Former boxing champion Anthony Joshua has 'minor injuries' after 2 die in car accident in Nigeria
December 29, 2025 at 7:49 PM
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1 / 2Joshua Paul BoxingAnthony Joshua stands on stage during a face-off against Jake Paul at a news conference promoting their upcoming heavyweight boxing match, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Anthony Joshua, the British boxer and former world heavyweight champion, was hospitalized Monday with "minor injuries" after a car accident that killed two other passengers in Nigeria.
The Lagos state commissioner for information, Gbenga Omotoso, confirmed the accident in a post on X, adding that the government had sent ambulances to the crash site.
The crash occurred on a major thoroughfare, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which links Ogun state to Lagos, the country's economic capital, at about 11 a.m. local time. Nigeria is the homeland of Joshua's parents.
Ogun State Police said in a statement: "The vehicle conveying Mr. Joshua, a Lexus SUV, was involved in the accident under circumstances that are currently being investigated. Joshua, seated in the rear of the vehicle, sustained minor injuries and is receiving medical attention with another injured person."
According to a statement by Olusegun Ogungbemide, spokesperson for the Federal Road Safety Corps, preliminary investigations indicated the vehicle was "traveling beyond the legally prescribed speed limit on the corridor, lost control during an overtaking maneuver and crashed into a stationary truck," which was by the side of the road.
The Ogun state government said that "preliminary reports indicate that two male foreign nationals died on the spot." AP has not been able to independently verify their identities.
'Life is much more important than boxing'
Joshua beat YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on Dec. 19 in a bout in Miami, which he was using to regain sharpness in the ring. He lost the world heavyweight title in 2021 to Oleksandr Usyk.
"Life is much more important than boxing. I am praying for the lost lives, AJ and anyone impacted by today's unfortunate accident," Paul said Monday.
Photos on social media show the boxer being extricated from a wrecked vehicle while he was wincing in pain.
"Anthony Joshua is in an undisclosed hospital being treated for his injuries," Lanre Ogunlowo, the commissioner of police for Ogun state, told the AP. He said he has no further information on the injuries.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn told Daily Mail Sport he is attempting to find out the extent of Joshua's injuries, saying: "I am away on a family holiday and awoke to the news of this incident.
"We are trying to contact Anthony and in the meantime we don't want to speculate on how he is but thankfully he appears OK from what I have seen in the images."
Joshua briefly went to boarding school in Nigeria at the age of 11. He returned there for the first time in 17 years in 2019, ahead of a fight against Andy Ruiz Jr.
Joshua has been in talks to fight fellow Briton Tyson Fury in 2026.
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Source: "AOL Sports"
Source: Sports
Published: December 29, 2025 at 09:27PM on Source: ANDY MAG
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