Various videos on X (formerly Twitter) show British boxer and former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua being assisted from a damaged vehicle, apparently from one of the passenger seats, after he was injured in a fatal car crash that killed two people on Monday.
The accident happened on the main highway linking neighboring Ogun State with Lagos, the country’s commercial hub.
What does the video show?
One of the videos shows a shirtless Anthony Joshua wincing in pain as he is pulled from the vehicle involved in the accident. A man in a suit and tie helps him from behind while the others assist from the front. The clip, which has been widely shared online, also shows several men surrounding the crash site as rescue efforts are underway.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotoso, confirmed the accident in a post on X, saying the government had sent ambulances to the scene of the crash. Local media reported that the boxer was taken to hospital.
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According to Olusegun Ogungbemide, a spokesman for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), initial findings indicate that the vehicle “was traveling along the corridor at a speed above the legal speed limit, lost control during an overtaking maneuver and crashed into a stationary truck” which was parked by the side of the road, AP reported.
Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said Joshua’s car was towed to a police station in nearby Sagam. Photos released by the FRSC showed a heavily damaged black SUV and what appeared to be blood on the road, according to AFP.
Anthony Joshua’s family reacts
A family member of Anthony Joshua, who did not want to be named, told the BBC news of the accident had “shocked the family”. A relative said. “We hope for his speedy recovery and also the people who died – I pray for the deceased to rest in peace.” They added that Joshua traveled from Lagos to the family home saying that he usually visits around New Year and that they were expecting him as they had not seen him yet.
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Who is Anthony Joshua?
Anthony Joshua, born 15 October 1989, is a British professional boxer and former two-time heavyweight champion. He held the unified world heavyweight titles from 2017 to 2019 and again from 2019 to 2021. He also held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight belts at regional level from 2015 to 2016.
As an amateur, Joshua competed for England at the 2011 World Championships where he won a silver medal in the super heavyweight division. He then represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics, winning a gold medal. After turning pro, he was named The Ring magazine’s 2014 Prospect of the Year.
In 2017, his win over Wladimir Klitschko was awarded Fight of the Year by The Ring and the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Joshua recently defeated YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on Dec. 19 in Miami in a fight he has been honing his form as he prepares to try to regain the world heavyweight title he lost to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021. He also discussed a possible fight with Britain’s Tyson26 Fury in 2020.
Nigeria is the ancestral home of Joshua’s parents and he also spent a short period at boarding school there when he was 11.
