Eddie Hearn praises ‘inspiring’ Anthony Joshua after return to gym following fatal car crash

Eddie Hearn has hailed Anthony Joshua as “inspiring” as the boxer bids to recover from the devastating Nigeria car crash which left two of his closest friends dead.

“AJ”, the former world heavyweight champion, was left with minor injuries, but was seen in agony exiting the vehicle from the accident near Lagos on 29 December.

The boxing world united to pay tribute to Joshua’s former teammates Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, with the boxer also sharing a touching post on social media.

Joshua has since revisited his craft by returning to the gym, posting a video on Snapchat which showed him working out, hitting pads, exercising and riding a stationary bike.

Hearn has now joined Joshua in the gym for a catch-up, sharing a picture of the pair on exercise bikes.

“Great to catch-up with Anthony Joshua today,” Hearn wrote on Instagram. “His resilience and strength is inspiring.

“The loss is heavy and he will take his time to get back on track but said he is truly grateful for all the support and the love shown for Latz and Sina.”

This comes after Hearn urged caution over a resumption of the 36-year-old’s boxing career, telling Sky Sports that he will return to boxing when he has had time to heal.

He said: “He will need his time physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually before he makes a decision on his future. I do think he will want to return to boxing, but that will be his decision when the time is right.

“It is certainly not a conversation I’ll be having with him any time soon. The only conversation is ‘are you OK?’ and sometimes we find people will give that facade of being OK, but what happened to him is not normal and heartbreaking for all involved.

“When the time is right, I believe he will make his decision and you will hear it from him. That is the only voice you should listen to in that respect and we’ll give him his time to make that decision and heal.”

Joshua, who was born in Watford to Nigerian parents, was on holiday in Nigeria following his win over Jake Paul in Miami 10 days before the crash.

Ghami acted as his strength and conditioning coach, while Ayodele was a trainer.