Keypoints:
- Joshua shares first training footage since fatal Nigeria crash
- Two senior members of his team died in the December 29 incident
- Promoter Eddie Hearn urges patience on any return to boxing
FORMER world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has returned to the gym weeks after a fatal car crash in Nigeria claimed the lives of two of his closest aides, offering the first public sign of activity since the tragedy.
Joshua posted a short video on Instagram on Thursday showing him lightly hitting pads with a trainer. The clip was accompanied by a brief caption: ‘Mental Strength Therapy’. It marked his first visible training session since the December 29 crash and immediately reignited discussion about whether the 36-year-old intends to fight again.
The boxer was a passenger in a Lexus SUV travelling along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway when the vehicle collided with a stationary truck. Two senior members of his backroom team, Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami, were killed at the scene. Joshua sustained only minor physical injuries.
Loss beyond the spotlight
Ayodele, Joshua’s long-time personal trainer, and Ghami, his strength and conditioning coach, were regarded as central figures in his professional life. Their deaths have left a profound personal and professional void at a moment when Joshua’s career appeared to be regaining momentum.
The crash occurred while Joshua was on holiday in Nigeria following his December 19 victory over Jake Paul in Miami. That bout, though divisive among boxing purists, had renewed public interest in Joshua’s next move after several high-profile setbacks earlier in the decade.
In the days following the accident, his promoter Eddie Hearn cautioned that Joshua could be out of action for some time, stressing that any return would depend on far more than physical readiness.
Promoter urges patience and space
Speaking to Sky Sports on Wednesday, Hearn said Joshua would be given all the time he needs to process the loss before making decisions about his future in the ring.
‘I think AJ, as we have seen in the past on boxing-related stuff, is always a brave-face guy, a very positive guy,’ Hearn said. ‘This is very different to that and I know he will take his time.’
He added that recovery would involve multiple layers. ‘He will need his time physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually before he makes a decision on his future. I do think he will want to return to boxing, but that will be his decision when the time is right.’
Major bouts put firmly on hold
Before the crash, there had been renewed speculation about a long-awaited heavyweight showdown between Joshua and Tyson Fury, who recently emerged from retirement. The potential fight had again entered public conversation following Joshua’s Miami win.
Hearn, however, made clear that such discussions are currently inappropriate. ‘That is not a conversation that anyone is comfortable having,’ he said. ‘When the time is right, I believe he will make his decision and you will hear it from him.’
For now, Joshua’s return to the gym appears less a signal of imminent competition and more a personal step towards stability — a quiet, deliberate response to loss rather than a declaration of comeback.
