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Anthony Joshua’s poignant and impassioned speech about ‘how fast life will go’ has resurfaced after he narrowly survived a car crash that killed two of his closest friends.
The British boxer, 36, was a passenger in the back of a black Lexus when it ploughed into a stationary truck on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Makun, Nigeria, tragically killing Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele.
Joshua, who has long been outspoken on the fragility of life, miraculously survived alongside the vehicle’s other two passengers and is now being treated in Lagos’s Duchess International Hospital.
The two-time heavyweight world champion has since received an outpouring of affection from boxing legends such as Tyson Fury, who he had long been expected to fight in 2026.
After the crash, the Gypsy King wished for Joshua’s friends Sima and Kevin to be given ‘a good bed in heaven’ and on Tuesday evening he also shared Joshua’s speech about life and death.
‘I just look at life and I’m like man… this is crazy,’ Joshua tells BoxingKingMedia in the clip first published in May.
Anthony Joshua’s impassioned speech about ‘how fast life will go’ has resurfaced
The British boxer miraculously survived a car crash that killed two of his closest friends
‘All of this stuff, believe it or not is a big distraction, in my opinion. Because in the grand scheme of things, everything that I chase and everything that I want to own to make me feel relevant on this earth, is not so important, because I can’t take it with me.
‘All that’s guaranteed is death. All that’s going to be important is just living to the best of our capability. Aint it mad how fast life will go? We’ll be old, and one day all that will matter is living to the best of our capability.
‘I went to see my Grandad the other day and he’s very old now. I was thinking that all that matters to him now is who’s looking after him at his elderly age, because he can’t really look after himself anymore.
‘At one stage of his life going to work was the most important thing ever. And now to that business, he’s nothing, because he’s too old now.’
It comes as a statement issued from Joshua’s uncle, Adedamola, suggests that the boxer’s family may be unable to see him in the hospital, which has been rated the best private facility in Nigeria for the last two years.
‘Sincerely, the news that our son, Anthony Joshua, was involved in a fatal crash came to us as a rude shock,’ he told PUNCH newspaper.
‘We did not get to hear this terrible news on time until calls started coming in from people seeking confirmation. Anthony comes home three or four times a year, especially during the festive season, and it is usually a time to rejoice with family. This was completely unexpected.’
He added: ‘We are all eager to see him, even if only three of us are allowed, but we understand the need to protect him given his global status.’
Sources close to Joshua now say he is set to remain in hospital for New Year’s Eve and at least a couple more days.
Police investigators have confirmed the car crash was caused by a tyre blowout after Joshua’s Lexus ‘lost control’.
Joshua pictured with friends Latif Ayodele (centre) and Sina Ghami who both died in the crash
Local police told Daily Mail Sport that Joshua is ‘stable’ and suffered only ‘minor’ injuries, although there are fears they could be more severe than publicised.
Traffic police believe the car was travelling over the 50mph speed limit and lost control during ‘an overtaking manoeuvre’ on what locals have claimed is one of Nigeria’s deadliest roads, according to The Telegraph.
Babatunde Akinbiyi, the Police Commander of Nigeria’s Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (Trace), reported that the vehicle had ‘experienced a tyre burst because of excessive speed’.
An eyewitness has also told PUNCH: ‘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.’
Nigeria’s president revealed on Monday that Joshua’s mother Yeta Odusanya had rushed to his bedside at the hospital after being informed of the crash.
The smash, occurred at midday local time, just 10 days after Joshua defeated Jake Paul in Miami.
As reported by the Daily Mail on Monday, Joshua had been visiting family in Nigeria as part of a one-week holiday, with a view to resuming training ahead of a fight in late March, most likely in Saudi Arabia against the kickboxer Rico Verhoeven, prior to his proposed showdown against Fury in September or October.
While the exact nature of Joshua’s injuries are currently unknown, it is thought to be highly doubtful that he will be in any shape for a quick ring return. There will also be the question of psychological trauma as the ordeal that killed two other passengers in the same vehicle.
