Tragedy has struck close to the heart of two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, as two of his dearest friends have been confirmed as the fatalities in a car accident that also left Joshua injured in Nigeria.

The incident claimed the lives of Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, both of whom were long-standing companions of Joshua. The unfortunate accident occurred when the Lexus SUV, in which they were traveling, collided with a stationary truck on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in Makun shortly after 11 a.m. on Monday.

Nigerian officials have released images depicting the mangled remains of the vehicle. Nearby, a Mitsubishi, believed to be part of Joshua’s convoy, was left untouched, underscoring the randomness of the tragedy.

Miraculously, Joshua, seated behind the driver’s seat, survived the crash. He was later seen being extracted from the wreckage, visibly dazed and in pain from the ordeal.

Sadly, the accident claimed the lives of Mr. Ghami, who served as Joshua’s strength and conditioning coach, and Mr. Ayodele, his trainer. Two other individuals in the vehicle emerged without injury.

A representative of Joshua issued a statement this evening confirming the deaths of the boxer’s two team members and ‘close friends’.

The spokesman said: ‘It is with the deepest and most profound sadness that we confirm, following a road traffic accident in Lagos, Nigeria earlier today, the death of Sina Ghami and Kevin “Lateef” Ayodele.

‘Both were close friends and integral members of Anthony’s team.

‘We respectfully ask that space and privacy be given to the families at this time while they process this truly shocking and devastating news.

‘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.

‘No further information will be made available at this time.’ 

Just hours before the crash, a shirtless Joshua had posted a video of him playing table tennis with Mr Ayodele. 

The former world champion, whose parents are both Nigerian, shared a story to his 18 million followers on Instagram at 9.30am local time (8.30am GMT), where he appeared happy as he rallied with his close friend.

Joshua, who is understood to have been on his way to see family to celebrate the New Year, accompanied the clip with the message: ‘@healthy_mindset [Mr Ayodele] dishing out table tennis smoke.’

It is unclear when the footage was taken but it was posted just an hour and a half before Mr Ayodele and Mr Ghami were killed in the same car Joshua was in.

Mr Ghami had also shared a heartbreaking story on Sunday night where he ate a Persian meal with a friend and smiled as he said: ‘One life.’ This morning, he posted a picture of a Mitsubishi, which was part of Joshua’s convoy.

Mr Ayodele, a personal trainer who goes by ‘Healthy Mindset’ online, is a long-standing friend of Joshua’s – with their friendship stretching back before the start of the champion boxer’s career.

He featured Joshua in his first post on Instagram in 2015 to mark his friend’s first world title win against Charles Martin, captioning the photo ‘what a night’.

Mr Ayodele was born Kevin Ayodele, though he later converted to Islam and went by the name Abdul ‘Latz’ Latif.

A keen sportsman, Mr Ayodele played football for Aylesbury United, Tooting & Mitcham United, Hillingdon Borough, AFC Hayes, Chalfont Wasps and Northwood. 

The first Instagram post uploaded by Mr Ghami, Joshua’s long-time strength and conditioning coach, also featured the boxer.

The photo depicted the pair together in 2017 just before the Joshua’s triumph against Ukrainian legend Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley.

Mr Ghami, also believed to be in his 30s, was often seen in the gym with Joshua and was in his corner for his successful fight with Jake Paul in Miami on December 19.

He co-founded Evolve Gym in London, which describes Mr Ghami on its website as a qualified sports and exercise rehabilitator who specialises in musculoskeletal injuries and corrective exercise. 

The trainer had shared a photo this morning of himself with Joshua at the airport in Lagos shortly after arriving in Nigeria. 

Five men were involved in the collision in total, Nigerian road safety officials said this afternoon.

The Ogun State Government confirmed the two fatalities were ‘foreign nationals’. ‘Preliminary reports indicate that two male foreign nationals died on the spot,’ they said. ‘Their remains have since been deposited at the Livewell Morgue in Sagamu.’ 

An Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘We are urgently investigating reports of a road incident in Nigeria involving at least one British national and stand ready to offer consular assistance, if requested. Our thoughts are with those affected, and their families.’ 

Swedish boxing champion Badou Jack paid tribute to Mr Ayodele, sharing several photos of the pair with the caption: ‘Still in shock…May Allah forgive you for your shortcomings and grant you the highest level of paradise.’

Another friend, Ali Alman, wrote: ‘This one hit me hard!!! All I have is precious memories left with you both, this life is way too short. I can’t believe this news. May Allah bless your souls my brothers.’

Tagging Mr Ghami and Mr Ayodele, he added: ‘Today we lost 2 very special souls.’ 

Joshua’s former strength and conditioning coach, Rob Madden, said he was in ‘shock’, adding: ‘Two incredible men gone far too soon… I will miss you both. The energy you brought. The presence. The way you treated people. Rest in peace brothers. Thank you for the time, the memories, and the impact you made on all of us.’ 

And Chris Eubank Jr tweeted: ‘Thank god our heavyweight champ survived that horrible car crash. And pray for the two fallen soldiers Latz & Sina & their families. I knew both… they were genuinely good men. Rest in Peace boys.’ 

Authorities said the SUV is believed to have been travelling ‘beyond the legally prescribed speed limit’ and lost control while making ‘an overtaking manoeuvre’, before crashing into a truck parked on the side of the road.

The Daily Mail understands the car’s tyre burst when it swerved and hit the truck.

CP Lanre Ogunlowo, Commissioner of Ogun State Police, said: ‘I can confirm an accident occurred and Anthony Joshua has been taken to hospital.’

He added: ‘A vehicle rammed into a stationary vehicle. Unfortunately, there were two fatalities. Anthony Joshua was treated by first-responders at the scene and then taken to hospital.’

A friend of the star said that ‘he’s okay but badly shaken up’. 

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told Daily Mail Sport: ‘We are trying to contact Anthony and in the meantime we don’t want to speculate on how he is but thankfully he appears okay from what I have seen in the images. 

‘We are awaiting more information on what has happened and will update in due course.’ 

David Meshioye, of the Nigerian Guardian, told the Daily Mail: ‘It was a very bad accident and we have spoken to several people at the scene.

‘Anthony Joshua was on his way to visit family as part of his holiday here in Nigeria. Two people were killed in the accident and they were both British we understand.

‘Anthony was taken to a local private hospital with the driver by his security team who were provided by the Nigerian government and we are waiting further news.’

Later, in a statement shared with the Daily Mail, the Ogun State Government gave new details on the accident.

A spokesperson said: ‘The Ogun State Government has expressed profound condolences to the families, friends, and associates of the victims of a tragic road accident involving world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua, who narrowly escaped death on Monday.

‘Preliminary reports indicate that two male foreign nationals died on the spot. Their remains have since been deposited at the Livewell Morgue in Sagamu.

‘Anthony Joshua and the driver of the vehicle were promptly rescued by security personnel attached to his convoy and taken to a hospital, where they are currently receiving medical attention.

‘The sport utility vehicle conveying the occupants was said to have rammed into a stationary truck along the expressway.

‘While the severely damaged vehicle has been evacuated to the Sagamu Motor Traffic Division (MTD) office, efforts are ongoing to tow the truck involved to the same location to facilitate a comprehensive investigation.

‘The Ogun State Government describes the incident as deeply unfortunate and painful, particularly with the loss of precious lives, while others sustained varying degrees of injuries and are receiving medical care.

‘Our hearts go out to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in this tragic incident, which the State considers a devastating loss.

‘As we mourn collectively, we pray for the repose of the souls of the departed and for the speedy recovery of the injured. May Almighty God grant the families left behind the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.’

An eyewitness told Punch newspaper: ‘It was a two-vehicle convoy: a Lexus SUV and a Pajero SUV.

‘Joshua was seated behind the driver, with another person beside him. There was also a passenger sitting beside the driver, making four occupants in the Lexus that crashed. His security detail was in the vehicle behind them before the crash.

‘Other eyewitnesses and I began the rescue and flagged down oncoming vehicles to assist. A few minutes after the crash, officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps arrived.’

The heavyweight has family roots in Sagamu, a town in Ogun State, Nigeria, and has a tattoo of Africa on his right shoulder.

He is believed to have been on holiday and on the way to see relatives when the accident occurred.

A relative of Anthony Joshua, who asked not to be named, told the BBC they were in ‘shock’ upon hearing the news.

‘We are hoping for his speedy recovery and also the people who passed away – I pray for the departed to rest in peace,’ they said.

‘He’s normally coming around for the new year. We haven’t seen him so we were expecting him.’

Joshua had posted a story on his Instagram account four hours ago, where he is seen topless in a video playing table tennis with his long-time friend Latif Ayodele.

He accompanied the clip with the message: ‘@healthy_mindset dishing out table tennis smoke.’

Joshua was expected to fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in February next year after his sixth-round knockdown of YouTuber Jake Paul in Miami this month. 

He had flown back to Britain after his knockout victory before his pre-planned trip to Nigeria where he was expected to stay for a week. 

Joshua pocketed a reported £70million from his fight with Paul, which was viewed by more than 30 million people on Netflix. 

The father-of-one, as expected, emerged triumphant – breaking his opponent’s jaw in two places ahead of the final knock-out, although later said he should have won sooner.

Joshua gave Paul credit while speaking to reporters after his victory, admitting it took him ‘a bit longer than expected’ to stop the American.

‘It wasn’t the best performance,’ he said.

‘The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request and that was on my mind. Took a bit longer than expected but the right hand found the destination.

‘Jake Paul has done really well tonight, I want to give him his props. He got up, time and time again. It was difficult in there for him, but he kept on trying to find a way through.

‘You have to give Jake his respect for trying, trying and trying. But he came up against a real fighter tonight that’s had a 15-month lay-off.’

Joshua and his promoter Hearn also looked ahead to the future, urging Tyson Fury to sign on the dotted line and set-up arguably the biggest fight in British boxing history.

Fury is expected to come out of retirement next year after stepping away from the sport when he suffered a second consecutive loss to Oleksandr Usyk in May 2024.

Hearn said: ‘We want the Tyson Fury fight of course. That’s the fight, the biggest fight.

‘We can do that, by the way, straight away. No interim fights. If Tyson’s ready and AJ is ready, we don’t have to fight in February or March. I think he’s saying eight weeks, 24 hours to sign a contract.’

Before Joshua added: ‘The best promoter in the world has been speaking with Turki [Al-Sheikh], His Excellency, Riyadh Season, and now he’s going to relay those messages and speak to my training team.

‘I’m a strong guy. I want to push on – but the coaches, it’s really up to them, they’re the ones that guide me. Fighters will always fight, coaches are there to guide us.

‘They know what I’ve been through over the x amount of weeks I’ve been with them so it’s up to them to make a decision. They’re going to speak with Eddie, and then hopefully in a week or so, I’ll have some news.’