Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was injured in a car accident.
According to Deadline, the collision took the lives of two people in Nigeria.
The accident occurred on the Lagos–Abeokuta Expressway, which is Nigeria’s busiest highway, on Monday. Local law enforcement officers reported that Joshua was transported to the hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries. They are currently investigating the cause of the accident.
P Lanre Ogunlowo, Commissioner of Ogun State Police, issued a statement.
“’I can confirm an accident occurred, and Anthony Joshua has been taken to the hospital,” Ogunlowo said.
He added, “A vehicle rammed into a stationary vehicle. Unfortunately, there were two fatalities. Anthony Joshua was treated by first responders at the scene and then taken to the hospital.”
Authorities claim that the SUV involved in the crash is believed to have been travelling “beyond the legally prescribed speed limit.” Eventually, the vehicle lost control while making an overtaking maneuver, before colliding into a truck parked on the side of the road.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, told the Daily Mail: “I am away on a family holiday and awoke to the news of this incident.”
“We are trying to contact Anthony. In the meantime, we don’t want to speculate on how he is, but thankfully, he appears OK from what I have seen in the images. We are awaiting more information on what has happened and will update in due course.”
According to a friend of Joshua’s, “he’s okay but badly shaken up.”
“Nobody knows quite what damage has been done, but they were able to escape the wreckage,” they added.
“Others weren’t quite so lucky, so it’s been a traumatic ordeal which he’s trying to process,” they continued.
The British boxer’s family is from Sagamu, a town in Ogun State, Nigeria.
Joshua is fresh off a dominant sixth-round knockout victory over Jake Paul at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Dec. 19. Streaming live on Netflix to a record-breaking audience of 33 million viewers, Joshua broke Paul’s jaw during the win.