ANTHONY Joshua’s £100m all-British superfight with Tyson Fury is feared to be in serious jeopardy after his deadly car crash out in Nigeria.
Joshua, 36, was injured and rushed to hospital after the high-speed collision which claimed the lives of two of his closest friends.
Childhood friend Latif Ayodele and trusted fitness guru Sina Ghami were both travelling with the boxing superstar when they hit a stationary truck on Monday.
Latif and Sina, who were sitting on the same side of the Lexus SUV, are believed to have died instantly with Joshua in the backseat and the driver escaping the wreckage.
AJ was hauled from the mangled car in front of dozens of locals who witnessed the fatal smash.
He is believed to have been escorted through the crowd and taken past the bodies of his two close friends who were on the ground.
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What we know so far…
Joshua is believed to be in a stable condition and spoke to his family once arriving at a local hospital yesterday afternoon.
The extent of Joshua’s injuries remain unknown but they were described as “minor” by police chiefs who assessed him at the scene.
He will also have to overcome the mental trauma of what happened on the holiday and deal with the impact of witnessing his friends’ deaths.
Latif and Sina were also a huge part of “Team AJ” and were alongside Joshua for almost all of his stellar career.
Strength and conditioning coach Sina was even in the boxer’s corner for the Jake Paul fight in Miami on December 19 when AJ knocked out the YouTuber in the Netflix mega-fight.
Joshua had been tipped to return to the ring by early 2026 following a lengthy layoff after his shocking defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
His promoter and long-term friend Eddie Hearn said earlier this month that once that fight is out of the way, they will focus on the Fury matchup.
AJ was reportedly pencilled in to take on British foe Fury in one of the biggest fights in British boxing history before the tragic accident.
A September showdown with the Gypsy King, 37, has been on the cards several times, but hopes were renewed after AJ called out his rival after his Jake Paul KO in December with Wembley now in line to host the mega-fight.
The two multi-time world champs have both defined this era of heavyweight boxing but their blockbuster £100m clash has constantly been pushed back for a multitude of reasons.
Fury and Joshua have been on course to fight for over a decade now ever since Fury’s seismic win over Wladimir Klitschko out in Germany in 2015.
The Gypsy King relinquished his titles after conquering the sport as he left boxing all together while suffering from alcohol and drug addictions as well as mental health battles.
A month after the Klitschko fight, Joshua would land his first major statement win after his Olympic gold medal in 2012.
He knocked out fellow Brit Dillian Whyte at the O2 in a fight of the year contender which earned him a world title shot.
Joshua would then win Fury’s old IBF belt against Charles Martin in April 2016 with a lightning quick finish.
AJ then had a string of dominant wins against top heavyweights – including a knockout against Klitschko – as he tried to coax Fury out of retirement.
Tyson returned to the ring in 2018 before winning back a world title during an impressive trilogy with Deontay Wilder.
Both men would then call out one another on several occasions but the fight was never made.
They would both then go on to lose in back-to-back decisions losses to heavyweight great Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury retired after suffering the first losses of his career with AJ struggling to gain any real momentum after the defeat.
This leaves both men open for a bout tipped to be worth nine figures.
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren told The Sun last week that he hopes to land the fight at Wembley in 2026.
Warren told SunSport: “I spoke to him [Tyson] a couple of weeks ago, because he’s been travelling and it’s simplistic with Tyson, ‘You know, what my requirements are, if they get met, I’ll be there on the night.’
“I believe Wembley’s the home for it. And if it’s Wembley you’ve got to wait till summer anyway.
“So Tyson is not going to sit around waiting seven months before he steps back in the ring having been out for nearly a year anyway.
“But he won’t be fighting a YouTuber!”
The crash has now been thrown the fight into jeopardy with Joshua not only having to overcome the physical injuries he may have suffered but also the mental toll which comes with witnessing your friend’s deaths.
Joshua is yet to address his health or his future in the boxing ring as he continues to recover in hospital.
