However, after the crash, a man claiming to be his uncle told The Punch: “The major thing there is that he has retired from boxing. That is one thing that makes us glad.
“Each time he’s fighting in the ring, we are always carried away emotionally. Each time he’s knocked down, it is just like the heart is coming out of our chest.
“All these emotional feelings whenever he’s fighting, it’s too much trauma for us, also. Now that he has said that he’s leaving while the ovation is highest, we are happy.”
Joshua is yet to publicly comment on the crash or whether he plans on returning to the ring in the near future. However, despite the aforementioned comments, it’s understood he has made no decision on his boxing career, as reported by the Mirror.
On the day of Ayodele and Ghami’s finerals, the Brit uploaded a picture of himself with the families of his two late friends, with the caption: “My Brothers Keeper” alongside some love heart emojis. Before the end of the year, a statement from within Joshua’s camp said: “It is with the deepest and most profound sadness that we confirm, following a road traffic accident in Lagos Nigeria earlier today, the death of Sina Ghami and Kevin ‘Lateef’ Ayodele.
“Both were close friends and integral members of Anthony’s team. We respectfully ask that space and privacy be given to the families at this time while they process this truly shocking and devastating news.”
Last week, the driver of the car Joshua and his friends were in was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, reckless and negligent driving, driving without due care, and driving without a valid driver’s licence.
Joshua had been pencilled in to fight in Saudi Arabia on Valentine’s Day. There were also hopes of him fighting Fury in September.