Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn provided detailed information for the first time regarding the condition of the former world heavyweight champion after a terrible accident that occurred on December 29 on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. In that catastrophe, two close friends and team members of the boxer were killed.
"I met with Anthony last week. Physically, he is recovering—this is already good. But emotionally and spiritually, it is still very difficult for him," Hearn admitted in an interview with BoxingScene.
According to the promoter, the topic of returning to the ring is currently not being raised at all:
"Many people constantly ask me: 'When will Joshua fight again?' And I answer honestly—we haven't even discussed it. The most important thing right now is to give him space and time. He needs to fully recover from the injuries, mourn his friends, and support the families of Sina and Latif. Only when he himself feels ready will he say: 'Okay, I'm returning to the gym.' And then we'll start thinking about the training camp. Until then—silence."
Hearn emphasized that Joshua is going through a deep personal tragedy: the deceased were not just colleagues but people with whom he shared many years of trustful relationships.
Recall that on December 29, the Lexus SUV in which Joshua was traveling crashed at high speed into a parked truck. The driver later appeared in court—it was preliminarily reported that he exceeded the speed limit and did not have a full set of documents. Joshua himself sustained injuries but was discharged from the hospital in early January. Since then, he has hardly appeared in public and avoids talking about sports.