Anthony Joshua’s uncle claims star ‘has retired from boxing’ following fatal car crash

Has Anthony Joshua retired following a fatal car accident that claimed the life of two close friends? According to one of his uncles, he has.

Joshua was in a terrible car crash on December 29th that saw the vehicle he was riding in slam into a parked truck on the side of a highway. His two friends Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami were in the passenger side of the vehicle and took the brunt of the damage. They both died on site, and the driver is being charged with reckless driving.

Joshua has kept his silence for the most part following the accident, releasing one post on social media from Ayodele and Ghami’s funerals in London that simply read ‘My Brothers Keeper.’ But according to his uncle Adedamola Joshua, Anthony will not continue to box.

“The major thing there is that he has retired from boxing,” Adedamola told Nigerian outlet Punch. “That is one thing that makes us glad because 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.”

Joshua’s uncle confirmed with Punch that Joshua told his family he was retiring from boxing.

“Now that he has said that he’s leaving while the ovation is highest, we are happy,” Adedamola said.

It’s worth keeping in mind that this is second hand information, and even if it’s accurate it may not be Anthony Joshua’s final decision. It has been eight days since this traumatic incident in his life, which is too soon for any massive decisions regarding one’s career to be made. Joshua certainly doesn’t need to keep fighting … but that’s been the case for years.

There’s added pressure and scrutiny on Joshua given he’s weeks out from a massive fight with Jake Paul that pushed his visibility through the roof in North America. There are also well-known plans being pushed from Saudi Arabia for Joshua to finally fight Tyson Fury in the fall of 2026.

“Well, boxing will certainly be the last thing on his [Joshua’s] mind, right now,” Fury’s manager Frank Warren told The Mirror recently. “He’s obviously lost two team members who were good, close friends who are now no longer with us, so that will be a big loss to him. I don’t know the extent of his injuries, but it’s also how mentally this will affect him.”

“Boxing again will be the last thing on his mind, but tragedy can affect people in different ways,” he added. “Sometimes, you need something you can really focus on to pull through to the other side.”