Anthony Joshua in Nigeria car accident days after Jake Paul knockout, boxer 'praying for the lost lives, AJ'

Anthony Joshua, the British boxer and former world heavyweight champion, was hospitalized Monday with "minor injuries" after a car accident that killed two other passengers in Nigeria.

The Lagos state commissioner for information, Gbenga Omotosho, confirmed the accident in a post on X, adding that the government had sent ambulances to the crash site. Local media reports say the boxer has been transferred to a hospital. The cause of the crash remains unclear.

The crash occurred on a major thoroughfare, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which links Ogun state to Lagos, the country's economic capital, at about 11 a.m. local time.

Ogun State Police said in a statement: "The vehicle conveying Mr. Joshua, a Lexus SUV, was involved in the accident under circumstances that are currently being investigated. Joshua, seated in the rear of the vehicle, sustained minor injuries and is receiving medical attention with another injured person."

According to a statement by Olusegun Ogungbemide, spokesperson for the Federal Road Safety Corps, preliminary investigations indicated the vehicle was "traveling beyond the legally prescribed speed limit on the corridor, lost control during an overtaking maneuver and crashed into a stationary truck," which was by the side of the road.

The Ogun state government said that "preliminary reports indicate that two male foreign nationals died on the spot." The Associated Press has not been able to independently verify their identities.

Nigeria is the homeland of Joshua's parents and where he briefly went to boarding school at the age of 11.

Joshua beat YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on Dec. 19 in a bout in Miami, which he was using to regain sharpness in the ring. He lost the world heavyweight title in