What happened to Anthony Joshua? Detail explored as British boxer hospitalized in Nigeria

A81 closed after accident involving several vehicles - Source: Getty
A81 closed after accident involving several vehicles - Source: Getty

Anthony Joshua, the British-Nigerian sensation of the heavyweight division in boxing, was in a terrible road accident while driving in Nigeria on Monday morning. According to sources, the 36-year-old was driving along the busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway in Ogun State when the car he was in rammed into a stationary truck. Local police further confirmed the crash injured Joshua and tragically killed two other people.

News of the crash spread like wildfire online, and several videos popped up from the scene, showing the smashed SUV and people pulling Anthony Joshua out from the wreckage. Video surfaced on social media that apparently showed him wincing in pain and clearly shaken but conscious as he was being moved to receive medical attention.

What happened to Anthony Joshua?

The accident had happened at about 11 a.m., local time, on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway near Makun in Ogun State, a major expressway connecting the economic hub of Nigeria to several other key cities. Police and eye witnesses have identified the Lexus SUV carrying Anthony Joshua as hitting a parked truck under circumstances still under investigation.

At the time of the accident, he was sitting in the back. Police declared two people in the SUV- one seated beside the driver, another beside Joshua-dead at the scene of the accident. A fourth passenger suffered an injury that required hospitalization. Two others could walk away. Pictures and videos running across the social media sites made this particular event go viral.

In those videos, one gets a glimpse of Joshua being rescued from the wreckage while onlookers click away with their smartphones. It is these pictures of the injured Joshua, which have gone viral on the internet.

The police command and Federal Road Safety Corps of Nigeria have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident. It could be due to speeding or loss of control, but nothing is officially determined as the true cause at this juncture. Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn also spoke of having learnt about the accident while on holiday. He said he was trying to contact the fighter. He also said from the images he could view, Joshua looked alright.

News also resonated widely online because of his deep personal connection to Nigeria, where he often visited family and community projects. The crash comes just days after Joshua's knockout victory over Jake Paul in Miami-a fight that brought him fresh attention from fans around the world. Since then, reaction online has mixed concerns for Joshua's well-being with tribute to those that lost their lives as officials continue piecing together what happened on that busy highway.

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Edited by Heba Arshad