LAGOS, Nigeria — Tributes have been paid after the crash that injured British former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and killed two close associates on Monday, amid growing concern over Nigeria's roads following the deadly incident near Lagos.
Joshua, a two-time heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist, was under ''observation'' while recovering from minor injuries, his promoter said Monday.
Nigeria's Federal Road Safety Corps said the accident along a major highway connecting Lagos, the country's economic hub, and Ogun state was a result of ''excessive speed and wrongful overtaking,'' which had caused the car to collide with a stationary truck by the roadside. Eyewitnesses say the vehicle's tire had burst at high speed.
Joshua had recently won a bout against Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on Dec. 19, a fight he used to improve fitness in a bid to contest future top-flight boxing titles.
The former world heavyweight champion, who also holds Nigerian nationality, is in ''stable condition'' and would remain in hospital for further ''observation'' according to his promoter, Matchroom Boxing. Joshua's long-term friends and team members, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, were killed in the crash, the promoter said in a statement posted on X.
Ghami was Joshua's strength and conditioning coach while Ayodele was a trainer. Just hours before the crash, Joshua and Ayodele posted clips on social media playing table tennis together.
Mustafa Briggs, a friend of Ayodele, described him as pure-hearted and sincere. ''He had not a bad intention or a bad bone in his body,'' Briggs told U.K. broadcaster Sky News. ''He loved life, he enjoyed life,'' he said.
Outside a gym owned by Ghami in London, bouquets of flowers have been left at the entrance. Evolve Gyms was temporarily closed on Tuesday to mourn the loss of its ''beloved owner,'' according to a statement posted on the building.
