British former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua paid tribute to his two close friends who died in a car accident in Nigeria last month, promising to "do what is right" for the team and family .
Joshua, 36, sustained minor injuries in the crash in Nigeria which killed his strength and conditioning coach Sina Ghami and his trainer Latif 'Latz' Ayodele.
The tragic death of two of Joshua's trusted partners happened weeks after he stopped YouTuber and boxer Jake Paul in Miami to remain on course to face compatriot and rival Tyson Fury later this year before the accident put a question mark over the plans.
In his first video since the incident, Joshua told his official YouTube channel: "This is the best way to reach out to you all far and wide, worldwide who are showing so much love, care, support through that tragic, traumatic time where we lost Latz and Sina.
"The last time I spoke to you guys was in Miami, we had so many plans to wrap up 2025 and we were on a mission. We were on a mission, we went back home, went to see our families and everything just got flipped upside on its head."
Joshua held back tears as he reflected on the loss of his two "brothers" before he talked about his next steps.
"Yeah, it's a shame, it's a shame," Joshua said.
"One day my time will come and I'm not scared either at all. It's actually comforting knowing that I've got two brothers on the other side. I've lost people before, but I don't think I've lost people like that, my left and my right you know?
"Throughout this journey I have been on, it's not easy and I didn't even realise that I'm the big guy, you know what I mean, but I was walking with giants man that kept me protected, kept me shielded, but I understand my duty.
"I understand what they wanted to do for their families so what my goal is, is to continue to help them achieve their goals.
"It's just about doing what is right and I know I am going to do what is right by them. I know what I have got to do. I'm going to do what is right by them, do what is right by their family and it is about what is important."
Before the accident, Joshua was working towards a blockbuster all British clash with Fury.
This week, Fury announced his eagerly-anticipated return to the ring. He scheduled to take on Russian boxer Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11, in a fight that will be shown on Netflix.
