Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has expressed uncertainty over when or even if Anthony Joshua will return to the ring following the fatal car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of two of his close friends, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The 36-year-old British-Nigerian heavyweight recently returned to training in Dubai, just weeks after the December 29 accident that killed his personal trainer Latif Ayodele and long-time strength and conditioning coach Sina Ghami.
Hearn, who recently visited Joshua in Dubai, provided an update on his star client after meeting him for the first time since the crash.
“It was good to just see him. I have not had the opportunity to see him since the terrible crash,” Hearn told iFL TV.
“He is, of course, still mourning. We were in Dubai. We were at his house staying there. That’s where he lived with ‘Latz’ (Latif Ayodele) and Sina (Ghami). It’s not easy. He is keeping himself busy. Physically, he is getting himself over the injuries that he suffered. I think soon he will speak in terms of… I do not think there will be anything boxing related.”
The Matchroom supremo revealed that Joshua is simply training “for his own mind” rather than preparing for a boxing comeback.
“They are not injuries that will affect him long-term moving forward, but they are injuries that will take time. Boxing is a tough and rough sport. You can’t just go back in camp with injuries like that and I do not know when or even if he will go back into camp,” Hearn continued.
“At the moment, there is no conversation or no need to have a conversation about that. It’s just… ‘AJ’ will always train. And the training… and I think that’s a lesson to everybody, training can help so much and solve so much.
“What you are seeing at the moment is not him training for his return. He is training for his own mind. And he is training for himself physically to recover and repair. I just cannot believe his strength and resilience.”
Joshua recently shared images of himself hitting the pads in what he described as “mental strength therapy.”
Despite uncertainty over his future, Joshua’s uncle, Adedamola Joshua, previously told PUNCH Sports Extra that the heavyweight fighter had informed his family he would retire following the crash.
Former opponent Oleksandr Usyk has contradicted Adedamola’s remarks, revealing that Joshua still has the desire to continue fighting.
“I’ve already spoken with him. I heard a desire to continue in his voice — for the friends he lost and for the chance to live that the Lord gave him,” Usyk told Ready To Fight.
On Tuesday, driver Adeniyi Kayode, 46, appeared in a magistrate’s court in Ogun State charged with causing death by dangerous driving, reckless and negligent driving, driving without due care and attention, and driving without a valid driver’s licence. The case was adjourned until February 25.
Joshua’s uncle told our correspondent that the family was not interested in seeing Kayode imprisoned.
“Our son (Joshua) is so much deep in religion and taking everything by faith, he will not want anything to happen to the driver,” Adedamola said.
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