Anthony Joshua’s driver showed up in a Nigerian court after a crash that killed two of Joshua’s closest friends.

Back on December 29, Joshua himself was in the car, but he made it out alive. He’d switched seats right before the accident—a move that might’ve saved his life. Two of his friends, Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami—both part of his team—weren’t so lucky. Their funerals were held earlier this month.

On Tuesday, 46-year-old Adeniyi Kayode, the driver, stood in a magistrates’ court in Ogun State. He wore a blue hoodie and faced serious charges: causing death by dangerous driving, plus reckless and negligent driving, driving without due care, and driving without a licence. The judge pushed the case to February 25. Kayode walked out on bail.

Joshua, meanwhile, is back in the gym, trying to move forward. He posted a video on Snapchat—working out with pads, riding a stationary bike, just sweating it out. There was a line in one of the clips: “mental strength therapy”. Right after beating Jake Paul in Miami, Joshua flew to Nigeria for a holiday. Ten days later, the crash happened. He was born in Watford, but his parents are Nigerian, so the trip was a bit of a homecoming.

Ghami was his strength and conditioning coach. Ayodele was one of his trainers. Both played big roles in his career. On Wednesday, promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports he thinks Joshua will box again, but not until he’s healed. “He’ll need his time—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually—before he decides what’s next. I do think he’ll want to come back, but that’s up to him,” Hearn said.

For now, Hearn isn’t pushing. “Really, the only thing to say is, ‘Are you OK?’ People sometimes act like they’re fine, but what happened is just not normal. It’s heartbreaking. When he’s ready, he’ll speak for himself. That’s the only voice that matters. Until then, we’re giving him space to heal.”

Ryan Garcia heads into next month with a title shot—and honestly, way more questions than answers. He’s set to face Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight belt, but the path here feels strange. Sure, it’s a big opportunity. No one’s denying that. But how did we actually get here? That’s a lot harder to explain.

Last time out, Garcia did little to quiet the doubters. He fought Rolando Romero back in May, boxed cautiously, and drifted through big chunks of the fight. He waited. Didn’t press. Once Romero took over, Garcia just never got it back. Fans were surprised—mainly because Romero had looked shaky himself not long before, getting stopped by Isaac Cruz, who’s smaller and not a huge puncher. After that, people stopped asking about Garcia’s style and started wondering about his substance.

Since then, Garcia’s been everywhere online but hasn’t really shown growth inside the ring. He hangs out with influencers and posts training clips, but most of those videos look like quick home workouts—light mitt work, staged for Instagram instead of serious gym sessions. That’s only made folks more sceptical about whether he’s really preparing for a gruelling twelve-rounder against a guy like Barrios.

The bigger story sits outside the ring. Garcia comes in off a loss and nearly a year of inactivity, yet somehow lands a straight shot at a world title, green-lit by the WBC. They skipped over several ranked contenders. There was no eliminator, no tune-up fight, nothing. It’s not about sports logic—it’s about business. And while boxing’s always played that game, this one’s hard to brush off.

There’s another layer to this, too. Garcia has to prove his speed and timing still work at the top level, with no excuses. Those gifts carried him early on, but now he needs them to hold up against a champion who isn’t about flash but fundamentals.

Barrios isn’t the most feared guy at welterweight, but he’s steady. He sticks to basics, keeps his balance, and doesn’t fall apart when the action slows. If Garcia can’t take command early and keep it, he’s in for a long night, reacting instead of leading.

This fight won’t settle everything about Ryan Garcia. But it’ll clear up a lot. If he wins, he stays in the mix and gets some breathing room. If he loses, people will keep saying that opportunity keeps getting ahead of his development—and once that idea sticks, it’s tough to shake.