British boxer Anthony Joshua injured in car crash in Nigeria that killed two people

FORMER WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT boxing champion Anthony Joshua has been injured in a fatal motorway accident that killed two people.

Pictures circulating online showed a shirtless Joshua – a British national of Nigerian heritage – surrounded by broken window glass on the seats around him.

Footage showed Joshua wincing in pain while being helped out of the car as a crowd of people gathered around the wreck.  

The two people who died were identified as “close friends and team members” Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele by Joshua’s promoter.

“Matchroom Boxing and 258 BXG can confirm that Anthony sustained injuries in the accident and was taken to hospital for checks and treatment. He is in a stable condition and will remain there for observation,” the promoter’s statement said.

“The vehicle conveying Anthony Joshua, a Lexus SUV, was involved in the accident under circumstances that are currently being investigated. He was seated in the rear of the vehicle, sustained minor injuries and (is) receiving medical attention,” police spokesperson for Ogun state, Oluseyi Babaseyi, said in a statement.

The circumstances around the wreck are “currently being investigated,” said police in Ogun state, just north of Nigeria’s economic capital Lagos, which throngs with visitors from across the country and diaspora each December.

Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said in a statement that the Lexus Joshua was riding in “was suspected to be travelling beyond the legally prescribed speed limit on the corridor, lost control during an overtaking manoeuvre and crashed into a stationary truck… by the side of the road”.

However, a witness who gave his name as Kunle told the AFP news agency: “The truck was not stationary when the accident happened.”

“People rushed to help without even knowing those inside the car,” the 27-year-old said.

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“It was when we got there we realised it was Anthony Joshua that’s inside.”

The FRSC said that Joshua’s car was towed to the police station in nearby Sagamu.

A witness to the crash said Joshua was travelling in a two-vehicle convoy, and was seated behind his driver.

“The passenger beside the driver and the person beside Joshua died on the spot,” Adeniyi Orojo told Punch news.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told told Daily Mail Sport he was 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,” he said.

Earlier this month Joshua knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a Netflix-backed bout in Miami.

Next year, former Olympic champion Joshua is set to fight against compatriot and fellow former world champion Tyson Fury.

Joshua’s last fight prior to the match with Paul was a fifth round knockout loss to fellow Briton Daniel Dubois in September last year.

With reporting from David Mac Redmond