Anthony Joshua involved in fatal car accident in Nigeria

British former world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua was involved in a car accident in Nigeria’s Ogun State that killed two people, local police said on Monday.

Anthony Joshua, 36, sustained minor injuries when his vehicle collided with another car, Ogun State Police Command said, adding that he had been taken to hospital and that they are investigating the cause of the accident.

Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps said five men had been involved in the accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Anthony Joshua suffered minor injuries, two people lost their lives and two walked away unhurt, the FRSC said.

The agency said preliminary findings suggest the vehicle carrying Joshua was likely speeding when it lost control during an overtaking manoeuvre and crashed into a stationary truck parked by the roadside.

“The primary causes of the crash being excessive speed and wrongful overtaking constitute serious traffic violations and remain among the leading causes of fatal road crashes on Nigerian highways,” the FRSC said on X.

Anthony Joshua could not immediately be reached for comment.

Former world heavyweight boxing championJoshua, who is the son of British-Nigerian parents, attended a boarding school in Ikenne, 53 miles from where the crash happened, before returning to Britain at age 12.

The accident occurred just over a week after Joshua knocked out American social media star Jake Paul in the sixth round of a bout in Miami.

Joshua was returning to the ring after a 15-month layoff. He is expected to fight long-time rival and fellow Briton Tyson Fury in 2026.

Anthony Joshua Knocks Out Jake Paul

Earlier, former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in their controversial Netflix-backed bout in Miami on December 20, 2025.

Two-time world champion Joshua made hard work of defeating his vastly less experienced opponent, but finally made his superior size and power count in the later stages of the eight-round fight.

A mediocre contest at the Kaseya Center — with the two men reportedly splitting a mammoth purse of $184 million — descended into farce at times, with Paul repeatedly dropping to the canvas and grappling at Anthony Joshua’s legs.

At one stage even referee Christopher Young appeared to be losing patience, warning the fighters in the fourth round: “The fans did not pay to see this crap.”

As Paul tired, Anthony Joshua finally began to land punches with more regularity and after knocking down the American twice in the fifth round the end came swiftly in the sixth.

Joshua backed the 28-year-old into a corner and after teeing up Paul with a crunching left, delivered the knockout blow with a right to the chin that sent his opponent crashing to the canvas.

“It wasn’t the best performance,” Joshua, 36, admitted afterwards. “But the end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him.