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British heavyweight and Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua was in a speeding Lexus and survived a crash Monday morning in Nigeria that killed two other people, authorities said.
The incident occurred about 11 a.m. on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway in Makun, Ogun state, in the far southwest corner of Nigeria, police said.
Ogun State Police Command said Joshua, the 36-year-old British Nigerian, was a passenger in a Lexus SUV, while the Federal Road Safety Corps called the car a Lexus Jeep.
The Lexus was involved in the crash “under circumstances that are currently being investigated,” Ogun State Police Command said in a statement.
The Federal Road Safety Corps said the Lexus slammed into a stationary truck.
“Preliminary findings indicate that the Lexus Jeep, which was suspected to be travelling beyond the legally prescribed speed limit on the corridor, lost control during an overtaking manoeuvre and crashed into a stationary truck well packed by the side of the road,” it said in a statement.
Joshua escaped with minor injuries, police said.
He was seated in the rear of the vehicle, sustained minor injuries and is receiving medical attention, the police statement said. “Tragically, two other passengers in the vehicle lost their lives at the scene.”
The two victims, described as “close associates” of Joshua’s, were identified as Kevin Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said in a statement.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn called Ayodele and Ghami “close friends and team members.”
Tinubu said, “I wished [Joshua] a full and speedy recovery and prayed with him.”
Joshua burst on to the world stage at the 2012 London Olympics, where he won superheavyweight gold for Britain.
But American audiences might know him best for his decisive Dec. 20 win over social media star-turned-boxer Jake Paul, in a Netflix bout watched by about 33 million people.
Joshua (29-4) had won 24 of his first 25 pro fights after he retained the IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles with a ninth-round knockout of Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in London on Dec. 12, 2020.
He then suffered consecutive losses to Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk — first on Sept. 25, 2021, in North London and then again on Aug. 20, 2022, in Saudi Arabia.
Before the Paul bout, Joshua had another title shot in London on Sept. 21, 2024, but defending IBF champ and fellow Brit Daniel Dubois dominated with a fifth-round knockout.
Senior Breaking News Reporter
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