‘They were my brothers’ - Anthony Joshua struggles to contain tears as he speaks about fatal car crash

The tragic incident occurred on December 29 in Lagos, Nigeria, when the SUV carrying Joshua and his team collided with a stationary truck.

While the boxer sustained only minor injuries, his friends and team members, Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, were killed in the collision.

The boxer returned to the UK to continue further treatment and has remained largely out of the public eye since the accident, taking time to grieve.

In a heartfelt video posted to his social media accounts, Joshua paid tribute to his friends and thanked fans for their support following his accident.

"The last time I spoke to you guys was in Miami, we had so many plans to wrap up 2025," Joshua began.

"We went home, to see our families and everything got flipped on its head. That was such an unforeseen circumstance that was out of all of our control."

He continued, reflecting on the profound loss: "Not only did their parents, their uncles, their cousins, their friends and myself, lose two great men.

"We lost people that we really care about have been major players in all of our lives... It's tough. It's really tough."

Joshua acknowledged the difficulty of expressing his grief publicly. "I'm not gonna sit here and show all of my emotions. I know in today's day and age, it's easy to analyse people, pass judgment, but I know what I thought, and I know how I feel."

The British boxer described the deep bond he shared with Ghami and Ayodele, which went beyond their professional relationship.

"They were my brothers, my friends, first and foremost. Then we became business partners, we became hustlers, we became generals, we became everything.

"We became housemates, who were living together," he explained. "You know, I've lost people before, but I don't think I've lost people throughout this journey that I've been on. It's like you think I'm the big guy but I was walking with giants. Protected."

The Olympian vowed to support the families of his late friends, promising to help them achieve the goals they had set out for their loved ones.

"My goal is to help their families and to help them achieve their goals, even though they may not be here in the physical," Joshua stated. "I'm gonna do what's right by their family."

He also expressed immense gratitude for the global outpouring of support. "We heard you all, we saw the messages, the tweets, the social media, the YouTubes, the prayers, it's all been acknowledged... we acknowledge the 1000s, maybe going into millions around the world that show so much love to them both."

Following the crash, the bodies of Ghami and Ayodele were returned to the United Kingdom, where a joint funeral service was held at a London mosque on January 4.

It remains unclear when Joshua, whose last fight was a knockout victory over Jake Paul in December, will return to the boxing ring.