Key Highlights
- What accompanied this surprising, concerning news, was more grave: the rumoured deaths of two people, with rumour becoming reality in a tragic turn as the day unfolded. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTo compound the tragedy, for Joshua, the two victims were his teammates.
- More than that, they were his friends – his strength coach of more than 10 years, Sina Ghami, and his personal trainer Latif “Latz” Ayodele. Monday’s incident would have been no less tragic if those losing their lives were unknown in the boxing world or unknown to Joshua.
- In the same vein, there is a sentiment that naturally feels awkward to express, but it is one that “AJ” would be the first to endorse: Monday’s news would technically have been no more tragic had Joshua himself been involved; yes, his body weighs more than most, but his life does not. Still, sports fans know all too well the way the sporting world can freeze in the face of such horror.
- It did so when Kobe Bryant and his daughter lost their lives in a helicopter crash in 2020, and when Diogo Jota and his brother passed away in a car crash this summer, for example.
- But in the same way that it felt morbid to speculate on the actual details of Monday’s events as information seeped out, it feels wrong to speculate on the what-ifs of another lifetime. Anthony Joshua (centre) with Sina Ghami (left) and Latif Ayodele (Instagram)One aches to consider how much life Ghami and Ayodele, both 36, had ahead of them.