Anthony Joshua focuses on friends' parents after fatal car accident

Anthony Joshua has stressed that rather than coming to terms with his own grief after the car accident in which two of his closest friends died last December, his primary focus has been on helping their parents. As he prepares to resume his career next month, Joshua said: “I’m just there for their parents. Number one is being a good soldier for them. Gotta look after the boys’ parents.”

Asked if he had felt compelled to bury his pain since he was injured in the accident in Nigeria which took the lives of Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, Joshua said: “Everyone’s different. Me, I have to put my emotions to the side because I focus on the parents. My emotions can come at a later stage. I really look at the parents and I understand it must be most difficult for them. So I don’t make it about me, I make it about them. I make it about the mums and the dads of the two boys.”

It was the first time that Joshua had spoken to the media since his devastating personal loss prompted questions as to whether he would wish to continue his boxing career. Ghami and Ayodele were members of his training camp for years and their absence continues to be felt even as the lucrative lure of finally fighting Tyson Fury in November has encouraged Joshua to return to boxing. On 25 July, he will have a tune-up bout against the deeply obscure Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia.

Prenga, who was at the media event on Monday in London, said of the accident which has so affected Joshua: “I feel sorry for him and his team but I think it’s definitely going to affect him.”

Joshua seems to have been rejuvenated by working with Oleksandr Usyk, the world heavyweight champion who has beaten him twice. “We’ve had our time, we’ve had our fights,” Joshua said of his new friendship with Usyk. “So there’s a level of respect there and understanding that you just want to help each other. What I’ve learned from him is surround yourself with people who are experienced.”

Praising the way in which Usyk has largely remained with the same team since he became an Olympic champion in 2012, Joshua highlighted their “collective strength. When he fights, he’s fighting with his team.”

He also reflected on the way in which Usyk gained a psychological edge over Fury during the two fights in which the Ukrainian won on points. “I know he read Fury’s book” Joshua said. “You learn a lot about someone when you get to understand their psyche. I would definitely look at Fury’s psyche [but] my true battle is in the ring.

Asked if he plans to read Fury’s autobiography, Joshua joked: “Yeah, I would. I’ll get someone to nick it.”