Anthony Joshua had a good fight. The former heavyweight champion of the world beat Jake Paul in six rounds in front of a huge worldwide audience on Netflix on Dec.19. Ten days later, he lost two of his best friends in a car accident in Nigeria.
Joshua was starting to getting more attention for his boxing skills. More fans from different parts of the world were beginning to admire his dedication in the ring.
After Joshua's big fight, the British-born fighter went to Nigeria, where his parents were born, to celebrate his win and growing fame. Joshua's trip to Nigeria was special to him because he wanted to be more open to his culture and his heritage. But while he was there, he lost two of his best friends Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami in a crash that also injured Joshua.
Joshua had intended to celebrate in Nigeria. Instead, the heavyweight champ ended up speaking out about the loss of his best friend and showing his audience that his friends meant a lot to him and what he will do moving forward
“I’m going to continue to help them achieve their goals even though they’re not in spirit,” Joshua said.
Some Humber Polytechnic students explained the incident has affected them in different ways.
“Even though you have all your goals accomplish doesn’t mean you won’t face regular life challenges," said Malik Wallace, a student from the sports management program at Humber Polytechnic. "With that being said, celebrities and athletes are human, too,”
Another students at Humber uses Joshua's story as a reminder on how to keep the balance between success and wellbeing.
“As soon as people think about fame, they intensely think it means life will be perfect, but in reality that’s not the case here,” said Shannalee Burke, a student from the radio and broadcast program.
