Anthony Joshua has said the car crash that killed two of his close friends “still hasn’t sunk in” in his first comments made public since the accident in Nigeria last month.
A FaceTime conversation posted online by UFC fighter Kamaru Usman shows Joshua speaking to him while he was still receiving treatment in hospital.
In the footage, which appears to have been taken in Lagos just a day after the crash, which occurred on a Nigerian highway on December 30, the boxer tells Usman: “It still hasn’t sunk in. It still hasn’t hit me yet.”
Joshua was a passenger with his two friends Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele in a Lexus SUV that collided with a stationary truck on the Lagos–Ibadan expressway on December 29. He has yet to speak out about the tragedy but posted pictures of himself comforting relatives of the two victims, as well as his mother.
Kayode Adeniyi, their 47-year-old driver, is accused of causing death by dangerous driving and driving without a valid driver’s licence.
It is unclear whether Usman had consent to record his conversation with Joshua. In one YouTube clip, footage of the conversation appears to be removed.
However, the conversation had been viewed widely on social media by Thursday morning. Joshua had been pulled from the wreckage, wincing in pain, and appears to be in a hospital ward when he takes the call from Usman.
In the clip, Joshua is heard saying “obviously, two of my close friends passed away”.
When Usman, a former UFC welterweight champion, questioned whether Ghami and Ayodele had been seated in the front of the black Lexus when it crashed, Joshua replied: “One was in the front and one was behind him, on the right side. They both passed away. It still hasn’t sunk in. It still hasn’t hit me yet”.
After Usman expressed relief Joshua survived, adding “you scared the world”, Joshua replied: “Life is short man, life is short. And now look, I get to speak with you for the first time.”
The video was taken while Usman was backstage at his African Knockout Championship event, which was held on December 30 in Lagos.
Joshua spent New Year’s Eve in the hospital as he recovered before flying back to the United Kingdom for Ghami and Ayodele’s funerals on January 4.
Kayode appeared before a magistrate in Sagamu last Friday, charged with dangerous driving causing death. He has pleaded not guilty.
Before the fateful crash, Adeniyi met Joshua and his team at Lagos Airport before departing for Sagamu, where Joshua has family roots and was planning to spend the New Year, with the boxer in the front seat.
It was claimed in the court that Joshua moved seats at the request of the driver who was struggling to see the passenger wing mirror past the two-time heavyweight world champion.