Anthony Joshua seen smiling and playing table tennis before huge crash | Boxing | Sport
Boxing superstar Anthony Joshua was seen laughing and enjoying a game of table tennis just hours before he was involved in a devastating car accident, which claimed two lives. The 36-year-old was spending time with long-time friend Kevin Ayodele, who had travelled to Miami the previous week to watch Joshua’s exhibition bout against social media personality Jake Paul.
Posting a short video of their casual match, Joshua captioned his Instagram story: “@healthy_mindset dishing out table tennis smoke.” Images from Ayodele’s social media account show the duo posing shirtless beside a swimming pool five days earlier, accompanied by the caption: “Looking like we just swam back from Miami.”
Ayodele, a former non-League footballer whose career included stints at clubs such as Aylesbury United, Tooting and Mitcham United and Hillingdon Borough, has maintained a close friendship with the Watford-born boxing champion for many years.
He has been photographed alongside Joshua on numerous occasions and attended ringside for several of his most significant bouts, including his memorable clash against Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium in 2017.
British heavyweight Joshua sustained injuries in a road traffic collision on the Ogun-Lagos state expressway in Nigeria earlier today (Monday). He maintains family connections to Sagamu, a town located in Ogun State, south-west Nigeria.
The collision took place shortly after 11am when the Lexus Jeep carrying Joshua struck a stationary lorry on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in Makun, according to local media reports. Photographs and footage circulating online depict Joshua being carried away from what appears to be a severely damaged vehicle.
The shirtless boxer can be seen grimacing in pain whilst a suited individual and another man in casual attire attempt to assist him from the wreckage.
The Ogun State Police Command has confirmed that two fatalities occurred in the collision and that Joshua, along with other casualties, has been transported to “an undisclosed hospital”.
Witness Adeniyi Orojo informed Nigerian publication The Punch that a Lexus and a Pajero were involved in the incident. He said: “Joshua was seated behind the driver, with another person beside him.
“There was also a passenger sitting beside the driver, making four occupants in the Lexus that crashed. His security detail was in the vehicle behind them before the crash.
“Other eyewitnesses and I began the rescue and flagged down oncoming vehicles to assist. A few minutes after the crash, officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps arrived.”
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, revealed he discovered the news whilst on a family break and that he has been attempting to reach the former world champion.
