By Ayomide Otitoju
Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has paid an emotional tribute to two close friends who were killed in a car crash in Nigeria, describing them as “brothers” and “great men.”
Joshua, who sustained minor injuries in the December 29 accident, returned to England after being discharged from the hospital and attended the funerals of Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami last Sunday.
“Thank you for all the love and care you have shown my brothers. I didn’t even realise how special they are. I’ll just be walking with them and cracking jokes with them, not even knowing God kept me in the presence of great men,” Joshua wrote on X. “100 per cent, it’s tough for me, but I know it’s even tougher for their parents. I have a strong mind, and I believe God knows their hearts. May God have mercy on my brothers.”
Ayodele, Joshua’s personal trainer, and Ghami, his long-time strength and conditioning coach, both died at the scene when the Lexus SUV they were travelling in collided with a stationary truck on a busy highway linking Lagos and Ibadan in southwest Nigeria.
Nigerian authorities have charged the driver, 46-year-old Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, with “dangerous driving causing death.”
Joshua, 36, who has Nigerian heritage, was on holiday in the country following his victory over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in Miami on December 19.
