Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has paid a moving tribute to his two close friends and associates killed in a car crash in Nigeria, labelling them “brothers” and “great men”.
Joshua suffered minor injuries in the December 29 crash, and after being discharged from the hospital, returned to England before attending the funerals of Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami last Sunday.
“Thank you for all the love and care you have shown my brothers. I didn’t even realise how special they are. I’ll just be walking with them and cracking jokes with them, not even knowing God kept me in the presence of great men.
“100 per cent, it’s tough for me, but I know it’s even tougher for their parents. I have a strong mind, and I believe God knows their hearts. May God have mercy on my brothers,” Joshua posted on social media.
Ayodele, the personal trainer of the former two-time unified heavyweight champion, and Ghami, Joshua’s long-time strength and conditioning coach, both died at the scene of the crash on December 29.
Nigerian police charged the driver of the vehicle, Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, with “dangerous driving causing death”.
The accident took place on a busy highway linking Lagos and Ibadan in southwest Nigeria when the Lexus SUV in which they were travelling rammed into a stationary truck.
