During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday, sports promoter, Eddie Hearn, touched on whether Anthony Joshua will return to the boxing ring after he survived a tragic car crash that took the lives of two of his close friends.
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Joshua, 36, was riding in a Lexus SUV with his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele on an expressway in Ogun State, Nigeria, on December 29 when the vehicle collided with a stationary truck. Joshua, who was born to Nigerian parents in England, got injured. But Ghami and Ayodele did not survive.
Hearn, 46, stated that after recently hanging out with Joshua, it was likely that boxing would help him overcome his current predicament, just like the sport did for him previously, TMZ Sports reported.
“It almost feels like, being with him recently, boxing saved him — and it will probably save him again,” the British sports promoter said, implying that Joshua would continue boxing. “I think he will fight on, and I think he’ll do it in their honor. But it’s not going to be easy.”
Following the car crash, rumors swirled about Joshua hanging up his gloves. But the former two-time world heavyweight champion has yet to talk about what he plans to do next.
Hearn stated that Joshua was in high spirits after winning his fight against Jake Paul, as 2024 was a painful one for him because of his knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois. Hearn said it was therefore “devastating” for the British-Nigerian boxer to end 2025 in that way.
“After the Jake Paul fight, [Anthony Joshua] was on such a high. Last year was painful for him, coming off the defeat to Dubois… Just seeing him so happy after the Jake Paul fight, and then that happens — it’s devastating,” Hearn said.
Despite that, Hearn showered praises on Joshua and shared some words of encouragement.
“He’s an inspiration. He really is. And that’s life,” he said. “I always say, ‘This too shall pass.’ It’s one of the great sayings. People think that saying is only for when you’re having a bad time, but actually, it’s reflective on both sides of the fence.”
“After the Jake Paul fight, [Anthony Joshua] was on such a high. Last year was painful for him, coming off the defeat to Dubois… Just seeing him so happy after the Jake Paul fight, and then that happens — it’s devastating.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 27, 2026
He’s an inspiration. He really is. And that’s life. I… pic.twitter.com/crp8TCSnBn
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