British-Nigerian heavyweight, Anthony Joshua has returned to the gym for the first time since the car crash in Nigeria that killed two of his close friends and team members.
The former world heavyweight champion, 36, posted a video on Snapchat showing him hitting pads and working out, captioning one clip “mental strength therapy” 19 days after the tragic incident.
Joshua sustained minor injuries when the vehicle in which he was a passenger collided with a stationary truck on a major road near Lagos on December 29, claiming the lives of his strength and conditioning coach, Sina Ghami, and trainer Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele.
The accident occurred 10 days after Joshua’s victory over Jake Paul in Miami on December 19, while the boxer was on holiday in Nigeria.
Last week, Joshua posted a heartfelt tribute to Ghami and Ayodele on Instagram, reflecting on their significance in his life and career.
“I didn’t even realise how special they are,” he wrote. “I’ll just be walking with them and cracking jokes with them, not even knowing God kept me in the presence of great men.
“100 per cent it’s tough for me, but I know it’s even tougher for their parents.”
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, believes the boxer will return to the ring “when the time is right,” but has insisted there is no rush for him to make any decisions about his boxing future.
Speaking to Sky Sports on Wednesday, Hearn said, “He will need his time physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, before he makes a decision on his future.
“I do think he will want to return to boxing, but that will be his decision when the time is right. It is certainly not a conversation I’ll be having with him any time soon.
“The only conversation is ‘are you OK?’ and sometimes we find people will give that facade of being OK, but what happened to him is not normal and heartbreaking for all involved.”
“When the time is right, I believe he will make his decision, and you will hear it from him. That is the only voice you should listen to in that respect, and we’ll give him his time to make that decision and heal.”
The promoter added that his focus was on supporting Joshua as a friend rather than discussing business.
Despite the tragedy, Hearn believes Joshua will eventually return to boxing.
“If he never fought again, you could never ever blame him, but knowing AJ, after he’s grieved, I believe he will want to get back to boxing,” he said.
“The only thing that will make the mind clearer is time, and he’ll be given all the time. We have no belts; we don’t have to do anything. We could not fight for two years or ever again.”
However, Joshua’s uncle, Adedamola Joshua, exclusively told PUNCH Sports Extra that the boxer has decided to retire from boxing following the tragedy.
“The major thing there is that he has retired from boxing. That is one thing that makes us glad because each time he’s fighting in the ring, we are always carried away emotionally,” Adedamola told Sunday PUNCH during a visit to the family home in Sagamu.
Joshua spent New Year’s Eve in hospital recovering from his injuries before flying back to the United Kingdom for the funerals of Ghami and Ayodele, which were held at the London Central Mosque on January 4.
Credit: punchng.com
