British heavyweight Anthony Joshua has returned to the gym less than three weeks after a car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of two of his close friends and team members.
The former world heavyweight champion, 36, sustained minor injuries in the December 29 incident near Lagos, in which Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele were killed when their vehicle, carrying Joshua, collided with a stationary truck.
Nineteen days later, Joshua shared a video on Snapchat showing him working out and hitting pads, captioned “mental strength therapy,” marking his first public return to training since the tragedy, which occurred 10 days after he defeated Jake Paul in Miami on December 19.
Joshua has previously paid tribute to Ghami, his strength and conditioning coach, and Ayodele, his trainer, writing on Instagram, “I didn’t even realise how special they are… not even knowing God kept me in the presence of great men,” while acknowledging the emotional toll of the loss.
His promoter, Eddie Hearn, said any decision on a return to boxing would come only “when the time is right,” telling Sky Sports: “He will need his time physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually before he makes a decision on his future… The only conversation is ‘are you OK?’… When the time is right, I believe he will make his decision and you will hear it from him.”