Hours after dominating Jake Paul in Miami and cashing in on a share of a £210m purse, Anthony Joshua found himself in a very different kind of fight — one for simple survival. Riding in the back of a Lexus SUV along the notorious Lagos–Ibadan expressway, he became part of a violent crash near the Sagamu Interchange, a stretch long feared by Nigerians for its deadly collisions and relentless festive traffic.

Images soon emerged: Joshua, bare-chested, dazed but upright in the back seat of another vehicle; elsewhere, a mangled SUV, scattered debris and a truck punched in by the impact. For a man who had just broken Jake Paul’s jaw in two places, the contrast was stark. In the ring, danger is choreographed and contained. On that crowded Nigerian highway, it was random, merciless, and utterly real — a reminder that even the strongest can be reduced to fragile flesh in a single, shattering moment.