AJ'S AGONY ON ROAD OF DEATH

Star winces in pain as he's lifted from car, Two friends die in highway truck collision

- DAN WARBURTON

FORMER heavyweight boxing champ Anthony Joshua grimaces in agony as he is pulled shirtless from the twisted wreckage of a car crash in which two of his closest friends were killed.

AJ, 36, who was taken to hospital, is on holiday in Nigeria after knocking out YouTuber Jake Paul, 28, in a £70million bout on December 19.

The athlete, who has Nigerian heritage, came within inches of death in the back seat of the Lexus SUV when it crashed into a stationary truck. He was said to be in a stable condition in hospital last night.

The two men who died were named as Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami.

Ghami was Joshua's longtime friend and strength and conditioning coach, while former non-league footballer Latif was his personal trainer. Joshua posted a video four hours before the crash showing him enjoying a game of table tennis with Ayodele. He added the caption: “@healthy_mindset dishing out table tennis smoke.”

Emergency workers raced to the scene near a petrol station in Makun on the busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway shortly after 11am yesterday.

The 80-mile road is one of the country's deadliest routes having claimed 73 lives in the past three months and a total of 645 deaths over the last two years.

The Ogun State government said in a statement: “We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives.

“Anthony Joshua and another passenger were evacuated to a specialised medical facility in Lagos.