Anthony Joshua honored two of his closest friends on Mother’s Day by bringing their families together for a celebration. The former heavyweight champion was filmed dancing with the mothers of Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele at a gathering on Sunday.
Sina and Latz lost their lives in a car accident in Nigeria last December. Joshua and the driver were the sole survivors of the crash, which occurred while the group was on holiday in Lagos following Joshua’s win in Miami on December 19.
The two men had been far more than associates to the 36-year-old Watford-born athlete; they were housemates, business partners, and, above all, brothers.
At Sunday’s gathering, Joshua addressed those present with a sincerity that revealed just how close to his heart the occasion was. He said: “To come under one roof and celebrate our mothers, celebrate our brothers, celebrate those that are not with us, and celebrate those that are with us.”
He continued: “Knowing that all of our fates will one day come, we just stay strong until that day. We pray for our transition and just to be great in the afterlife. And why I talk about that is because my heart’s for my bros right now, do you know what I mean?”
Joshua then directed his words to the two mothers in the room, saying: “So, thank you again; why we’ve done this is obviously for my mum and our family, but also for Sina, Latz, Sina’s mum, and Latz’s mum. It’s all interconnected and I’m not making too much sense. I’m just speaking from my heart, basically. So thank you, mums, for giving me Latz and Sina for so many years and for looking over me, you know? I appreciate it a lot. Thank you very much.”
After the speech, Joshua was seen dancing with each of the mothers in turn. He shared several clips from the event on his Snapchat story, and the atmosphere throughout appeared warm and celebratory.
The day was a continuation of the care Joshua has shown toward the families of his two friends since the accident. In the weeks that followed the tragedy, he paid tribute to them on social media, vowed to look after their loved ones, and had their names tattooed on his arm. These were not gestures made for an audience; they were expressions of loyalty.
It was in January that Joshua spoke most openly about what he had been through, in an emotional video posted to Instagram. He recalled: “The last time I spoke to you guys was in Miami, we had so many plans to wrap up 2025. We went home, to see our families and everything got flipped on its head.”
He went on: “That was such an unforeseen circumstance that was out of all of our control. And 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, major, major players in all of our lives. It’s tough. It’s really tough.”
In that same video, Joshua acknowledged the particular challenge of grieving under public scrutiny. “I’m not gonna sit here and show all of my emotions. I know in today’s day and age, it’s easy to analyse people, pass judgment, but I know what I thought, and I know how I feel.”
He spoke plainly about what Sina and Latz had meant to him: “I know what my duty is. They were my brothers, my friends, first and foremost. Then we became business partners, we became hustlers, we became generals, we became everything. We became housemates, who were living together.”
“You know, I’ve lost people before, but I don’t think I’ve lost people throughout this journey that I’ve been on,” he added. “It’s like you think I’m the big guy but I was walking with giants. Protected.”
Joshua, born in Watford to Nigerian parents, walked away from December’s accident with minor physical injuries.
