Joshua has returned to action after recovering from minor injuries sustained in the accident that killed two of his friends.
Published January 4, 2026
Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has reportedly flown back to the UK after losing two close friends in a fatal road crash in Nigeria.
Shina Gahmi and Latif “Rats” Ayodele died on Monday when the car they were riding in with Joshua collided with a parked truck on a road near Lagos.
Joshua suffered minor injuries, but the two-time heavyweight champion was deemed clinically fit to recover at home and was released from hospital on Wednesday.
British media reported on Saturday that Joshua had returned to the country ahead of Gami and Ayodele’s funerals.
Gami was Joshua’s strength and conditioning coach and Ayodele was his trainer. Hours before the collision, Joshua and Ayodele posted a clip on social media of them playing table tennis together.
His reinstatement comes after the Nigerian police charged the driver of the car, Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, with “dangerous driving causing death.” He is scheduled to appear in court on January 20th.
Kayode was driving Joshua and others on a busy highway between Lagos and Ibadan in southwestern Nigeria when the Lexus SUV they were riding in crashed into a truck.
The 2012 Olympic champion, who has family roots in Nigeria, was vacationing in the African country after his victory over Jake Paul in Miami on December 19th.
