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Claim: A Facebook user, Biggy Small, posted a claim alleging that the British-Nigerian boxer, Anthony Joshua, has stated that he will never visit Nigeria again after surviving a gruesome road crash.
Verdict: False! Although Anthony Joshua’s management team has released a statement on his behalf after the tragic car crash, it’s not true that he has publicly said he will never visit Nigeria again.
Full Text
On Monday, December 29, 2025, the boxing world was rocked by news of a tragic road accident involving former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The incident occurred around 11:00 AM in the Makun area near Sagamu, Joshua’s ancestral hometown, as he was travelling in a Lexus SUV.
According to reports from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the driver attempted to overtake at high speed but suffered a tyre burst, causing the driver to lose control and collide with a stationary truck parked by the roadside.
While Joshua, who was seated in the rear, miraculously survived with minor injuries, the crash claimed the lives of two of his closest friends and team members, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele.
Footage from the scene showed a visibly shaken Joshua being helped from the mangled wreckage by bystanders. He was subsequently stabilised at a local hospital, where he received a supportive phone call from President Bola Tinubu.
The tragedy follows just ten days after Joshua’s knockout victory over Jake Paul in Miami.
However, a Facebook user, Biggy Small, claimed that Anthony Joshua stated he would never visit Nigeria again.
He quoted the boxer as saying: “Not every place is meant to be revisited. I don’t think I’m coming back to Nigeria.”
A similar claim is found here and here.
DUBAWA decided to fact-check the claim due to its potential to mislead.
Verification:
Firstly, we conducted a Google Keyword Search and found that no credible news agency reported the claim by Biggy Small.
We reviewed the official statement released by Anthony Joshua’s team and found no evidence supporting the claim by Biggy Small.
We also verified the claim on Anthony Joshua’s official social media pages like Instagram, Facebook and X (Twitter), but there is no evidence of the claim made by Biggy Small.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s investigation found that the claim reported by Biggy Small is false.
