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The crash that resulted in star boxer Anthony Joshua being hospitalized with minor injuries and that killed two people Monday morning occurred when the speeding car he was in lost control “during an overtaking maneuver,” according to the Federal Road Safety Corps of Nigeria.
The speeding and wrongful maneuver are considered “serious traffic violations,” the organization continued later in its series of X posts.
“To this end, the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Shehu Mohammed on behalf of the entire Management and staff of the Federal Road Safety Corps extend heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and wish the injured victim, Anthony Joshua a speedy recovery,” the organization continued in another post.
Ogun State Police Commissioner Lanre Ogunlowo told ESPN that a tire burst along the highway and the driver of Joshua’s vehicle lost control as a result.
The Federal Road Safety Corps’ statement didn’t mention the tire issue.
Joshua, 36 years old and a British boxer, was riding behind the driver’s seat in a Lexus.
The people in the passenger seat and behind the passenger seat “died on the spot” after the vehicle crashed into a stationary truck, according to Punch, a Nigerian outlet citing an eyewitness report.
Videos and photos from the aftermath of the crash showed a shirtless Joshua grimacing as he was pulled out of the car with a group of bystanders surrounding him, in addition to horrifying footage of the wrecked car involved in the accident.
The crash occurred Monday morning on what The Sun described — citing local media — as “one of Nigeria’s deadliest roads.”
Just 10 days ago, Joshua, a former multiple-time united heavyweight champion, secured his first boxing victory since 2024 with a knockout of Jake Paul in the sixth round of their bout in Miami.
Joshua earned $92 million for participating, according to multiple outlets, and he described himself as a “real fighter” — whose career record improved to 29-4 with 26 knockouts — in an interview with Netflix following the fight that left Paul with just his second career loss and a broken jaw that required surgery.
Five men were involved in the crash, according to the Federal Road Safety Corps, and Joshua’s security team was traveling in the vehicle behind the Lexus involved in the accident.
“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,” his promoter, Eddie Hearn, told the Daily Mail.
“We are awaiting more information on what has happened and will update in due course.”
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