{"id":125323,"date":"2026-01-30T12:17:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T11:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=125323"},"modified":"2026-01-30T12:17:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T11:17:59","slug":"anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Joshua Opens Up on Emotional Toll Following Friends\u2019 Deaths\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua has opened up on the emotional impact of losing two of his closest friends and team members, Sina Ghami and Latif \u201cLatz\u201d Ayodele, who were killed in a car crash in Nigeria.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0Joshua, who was also in the vehicle, survived with minor injuries and has since paid tribute to the friends he described as his \u201cbrothers.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The crash occurred while Joshua was visiting his family in Nigeria, just weeks after his December victory over Jake Paul.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a heartfelt social media video, he described the ordeal as a deeply \u201ctraumatic time\u201d and spoke openly about the profound loss he, and many others close to Ghami and Ayodele, are now facing.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWe went back home, went to see our families, and everything just got flipped upside down,\u201d Joshua said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThat was such an unforeseen circumstance, out of all our control. Not only did their parents, their uncles, their cousins, their friends, and myself lose two great men, we lost people that we dearly care about and have been major players in all of our lives.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He\u00a0 emphasized the bond he shared with Ghami and Ayodele, describing them as his \u201cleft and right\u2026 very important team members, very important friends, and two of my brothers.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ace boxer reflected on the support they provided him, saying, \u201cI\u2019m the big guy but I was walking with giants that kept me protected, kept me shielded.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Promoter Eddie Hearn suggested that Joshua may need time away from boxing to process the tragedy before deciding on his future in the sport.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fellow heavyweight boxer Fabio Wardley also noted that Joshua will need time to gather himself and consider his next steps.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite the grief, Joshua said he intends to honor his friends\u2019 memories and support their families.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0\u201cMy goal is to continue to help them achieve their goals. It\u2019s not just physical strength that will get me through. It\u2019s going to take a lot of strength from a higher power. I\u2019m going to do what\u2019s right by them, I\u2019m going to do what\u2019s right by their family.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He\u00a0 also expressed his appreciation for the global outpouring of support.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cI still can\u2019t get my head around the reality of losing\u00a0 my two dear friends and how loving they were. We grew up together, and I\u2019ve known them as my friends, but over the years they built such strong characters. I\u2019m sure their parents are incredibly proud of them, because I am.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8221; Thank you for all the love from around the world. To anyone out there who\u2019s lost a son or a brother, one love to you.\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo Former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua has opened up on the emotional impact of losing two of his closest friends and team members, Sina Ghami and Latif&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":125324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Anthony Joshua Opens Up on Emotional Toll Following Friends\u2019 Deaths\u00a0 - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Anthony Joshua Opens Up on Emotional Toll Following Friends\u2019 Deaths\u00a0 - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Oscar Okhifo Former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua has opened up on the emotional impact of losing two of his closest friends and team members, Sina Ghami and Latif&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-30T11:17:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/606006684_1177692454520319_6315679994097971432_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"Anthony Joshua Opens Up on Emotional Toll Following Friends\u2019 Deaths\u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-30T11:17:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/\"},\"wordCount\":461,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/606006684_1177692454520319_6315679994097971432_n.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/\",\"name\":\"Anthony Joshua Opens Up on Emotional Toll Following Friends\u2019 Deaths\u00a0 - Pointblank News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/606006684_1177692454520319_6315679994097971432_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-30T11:17:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/606006684_1177692454520319_6315679994097971432_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/606006684_1177692454520319_6315679994097971432_n.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":540},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Anthony Joshua Opens Up on Emotional Toll Following Friends\u2019 Deaths\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\",\"name\":\"Pointblank News\",\"description\":\"Just the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\",\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Our Reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Anthony Joshua Opens Up on Emotional Toll Following Friends\u2019 Deaths\u00a0 - Pointblank News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Anthony Joshua Opens Up on Emotional Toll Following Friends\u2019 Deaths\u00a0 - Pointblank News","og_description":"By Oscar Okhifo Former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua has opened up on the emotional impact of losing two of his closest friends and team members, Sina Ghami and Latif&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/","og_site_name":"Pointblank News","article_published_time":"2026-01-30T11:17:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":540,"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/606006684_1177692454520319_6315679994097971432_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Our Reporter","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Our Reporter","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/"},"author":{"name":"Our Reporter","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"headline":"Anthony Joshua Opens Up on Emotional Toll Following Friends\u2019 Deaths\u00a0","datePublished":"2026-01-30T11:17:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/"},"wordCount":461,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/606006684_1177692454520319_6315679994097971432_n.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/","name":"Anthony Joshua Opens Up on Emotional Toll Following Friends\u2019 Deaths\u00a0 - Pointblank News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/606006684_1177692454520319_6315679994097971432_n.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-30T11:17:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/606006684_1177692454520319_6315679994097971432_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/606006684_1177692454520319_6315679994097971432_n.jpg","width":960,"height":540},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/anthony-joshua-opens-up-on-emotional-toll-following-friends-deaths\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Anthony Joshua Opens Up on Emotional Toll Following Friends\u2019 Deaths\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/","name":"Pointblank News","description":"Just the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c","name":"Our Reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Our Reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125323"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125325,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125323\/revisions\/125325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}