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By: Sean Crose
Anthony Joshua is reportedly hospitalized after being involved in a motor vehicle crash in Nigeria that killed two people. ESPN was informed by Ogun State Police Commissioner Lanre Ogunlowo that “Joshua, 36, was traveling in the back of a vehicle that had a tire burst while on a highway, and the driver of the car lost control as a result before crashing into a stationary vehicle.” Video of a shirtless Joshua being removed from a vehicle is making the rounds. In the video, Joshua appears to be grimacing in pain.
“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,” the Daily Mail quotes Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn as saying. “We are awaiting more information on what has happened and will update in due course.” According to Nigerian news outlet Punch: “Our reporter, who was at the scene, said the crash happened just before the Danco Filling Station in Makun, ahead of the Sagamu Interchange on the Ibadan-bound axis.”
An eye witness explained to Punch that “It was a two-vehicle convoy: a Lexus SUV and a Pajero SUV. Joshua was seated behind the driver, with another person beside him. A passenger sat beside the driver, making four occupants in the Lexus that crashed…his security detail followed in the vehicle behind.” Per the witness: “Other eyewitnesses and I began the rescue and flagged down oncoming vehicles for help. Minutes after the crash, Federal Road Safety Corps officials arrived. The passenger beside the driver and the person beside Joshua died on the spot.”
Joshua is an Englishman, but his family is from Nigeria. “The Joshua family is well known in Sagamu, in south-west Nigeria, and traces its ancestry there across several generations,” writes the BBC. “His great-grandfather, Daniel Adebambo Joshua, was a wealthy landowner and merchant, who is believed to have taken the Joshua surname after converting to Christianity.” Indeed, as the BBC points out, Joshua showcased his Nigerian roots several weeks back when he fought (and knocked out) Jake Paul with an image of the Nigerian flag on his trunks.
The 36 year old Joshua lives in London, but likes to visit family in Nigeria. Boxing Insider will keep readers abreast of any developments. Our prayers go out to Joshua, those who perished in the crash, and the families of everyone involved in the accident.
